Changes
by AnyankaCEJ
Summary: The lives of the citizens of Harmony take new and unexpected turns, including, but not limited to, new evil forces, corruption, and mistaken parentage. All characters featured, though fairly Kay-centric. Both canon and non-canon romantic pairings.
1. The Prosaically Named Chapter 1

Title: Changes

Author: Anyanka

Disclaimer: Passions, obviously, doesn't belong to me.  If it did, this story would be the show.  I do own Cassandra and Laura, for what it's worth.  This is my first fan fiction, so please R & R, and let me know how I'm doing.

Rating: PG-13, to be on the safe side.

Settings/Spoilers: Everything on and before the 08/02/02 episode actually happened; everything after is MY version (mwahaha).  I may incorporate bits of later canon here and there, but for the most part the current storyline is not happening.

A/N: This is not so much a typical story focusing on a few characters as my version of the entire show, incorporating all of the characters and their storylines.  This fanfic is dedicated to the memory of Josh Ryan Evans, whose tragic death on August 5 deprived "Passions" of its most delightful character, Timmy.   As I began the story before his passing, I plan to keep Timmy an integral part of my story as originally planned.  Hopefully, I'll soon have time to write a story concerning poor Tabby coming to terms with his death.  For now, this story stands as wishful thinking for his fans.

Alistair Crane sighed, exasperated, as he closed the door to the private study he was temporarily occupying at the Crane mansion.  What a night!  Theresa's "resurrection" had come off after all.  Oh sure, there had been Theresa's inclination to rise up out of her coffin and cause havoc, and his idiot son had managed to set the wax doll on fire, precipitating the need to reveal the girl's true state before he had wished to, but considering the convoluted nature of his plan, Alistair could not help but feel satisfied with the results.

            Julian was back, but more importantly, he now had Ivy and Rebecca right where he wanted them.  They were totally at his mercy, and would have no choice but to do just as he ordered, thus rendering them the essential tools he needed for the next phase of the master plan.

            The plan.  Those pesky Lopez-Fitzgeralds would never know what hit them—and Crane interests would of course be well served.  He must admit, though, that he had begun to possess a grudging yet growing admiration for young Theresa.  He had previously written her off as a typical silly youthful female, a bit more delusional than most, but her escapades that night had been nothing short of astonishing.  Given the amount of drugs that she had received in the injections, she should not have been able to flutter her pretty eyelashes, let alone repeatedly get up out of her coffin and chase her persecutors!  While her mixed heritage was a definite negative, she was in many ways the ideal mother for a Crane heir—tenacious, feisty, vindictive, and determined to get her way no matter what the means.  While those qualities would have to be beaten out of Theresa, Alistair hoped that her child, the Crane heir apparent, would inherit some of her backbone, and not be the spineless, sniveling wreck that Julian had turned out to be.

            Unfortunately, the night had also brought about the return of not only yet another Lopez-Fitzgerald, Antonio, to contend with, but also that of his supposedly permanently departed daughter, Sheridan!  She had been blown up, for Christ's sake, and yet here she was, strolling into town as if she wasn't supposed to be scattered to the wind, her ashes fertilizing the soil.  Apparently, that pesky brat of his had more lives than a cat.  He'd of course have to get rid of her, as well as Antonio, but just how would he do this?

            As he was contemplating a scheme to accomplish this new objective, he heard the click of the door as someone entered the room.  Although the hairs on the back of his neck stood up instantly and he felt a distinct unease, Alistair gruffly yelled, "I made it quite clear that I was to be left completely undisturbed tonight!"

            "I'm terribly sorry," replied a female voice impeccably polite in tone yet laced with a tangible air of gleeful malice, "but it's simply been too long since I've had a chat with you, Alistair, and I'm rather disappointed to find affairs in a dreadful state."

            Alistair promptly dropped the cigar he had been holding, the dread and frustration he had not felt in nearly three decades rushing back instantly.  No, God, it couldn't be, not now, it can't be HER…

            Apprehensively, Alistair turned around, refusing to believe his ears.  Facing him was a petite woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, with dark auburn hair and beautiful emerald eyes that would have been irresistible if they did not convey the look of a predator.  Her complexion was smooth and flawless, though her skin was almost impossibly pale, making her blood red lips all the more compelling.  She was smiling, her expression at first sweet but on second glance unsettling, as her teeth somehow seemed unnaturally sharp.

            Alistair was stunned speechless for perhaps the first time in his life.  He simply couldn't believe it.  Cassandra Crane had returned to Harmony!


	2. The Prosaically Named Chapter 2

At the hospital, Kay Bennett's world was coming crashing down around her shoulders.  She had been so sure that if she could just get Miguel in bed, everything would work out.  He would realize that he loves her, not Charity, and they could be together forever.  Well, she had gotten her wish, but even now all Miguel could think about was Charity.  True, she was in critical condition, but Kay had finally realized that he would never leave Charity, would never love anybody else, especially not her.

            Oh sure, Kay's words to Simone were confident, but deep down she knew her obnoxious friend was right.  Even though her perfect little cousin would die as soon as that plug was pulled, Miguel would always love her.  Kay was no better off than before she applied the essence of Charity.  Hell, if anything the situation was now worse: before, she'd at least been Miguel's best friend, but now he'd most likely hate her for the rest of his life.

            It wasn't just Miguel, of course.  Her family would also never get over Charity's death.  Her parents treated the pasty face like a daughter, more so than they treated Kay at times.  Her mother, especially, felt that Charity could do no wrong, Charity was so wonderful, Charity was so perfect.  Charity got the big blowout for her 18th birthday, while Kay's was barely acknowledged, and the only time her mother ever even talked to Kay anymore was when she suspected Kay of doing something that would hurt Charity.  In fact, Kay firmly believed that if her family had a choice, every single one of them would rather see her dying in Charity's place.  Why does everybody love Charity more than me?, Kay silently wondered with tears in her eyes.

            _But you do know why, Kay, a voice in the back of her mind whispered.  __How could anyone possibly love you with Charity around?  She's brave, pure, innocent, and kind, while you're basically petty, mean, and downright evil.  Kay suddenly realized that the voice was right, and Simone's accusations were accurate.  She was simply not as good as Charity, and never could be._

            Kay had tried to be good so many times, had honestly resolved to quit scheming and be a better person, but the temptation had always been too much, and she had always chosen evil.  Charity never would have done that, nor would her mother, her father, Noah, or Jessica.  _What's wrong with me, Kay thought.  __Why can my family be better naturally than me no matter how hard I try?_

*****

            "No, Timmy!  I won't let you go!  You're my sweet little lad and I love you," Tabitha whispered through her tears as she watched her precious "dollface" slip slowly away from her.  In her very long life, Tabitha had never felt like this before, or ever even thought she was capable of such vast grief.  This must be how all the people she had cursed with "pain and suffering" over the centuries had felt.  Suddenly, it didn't seem quite so funny anymore.

            However, this was not the time for philosophizing about her role in good versus evil, and the witch's thoughts were all on Timmy.  How she loved this doll turned boy; her life just wouldn't be complete without him.  What did any of the chaos that was surely in store for the good people of Harmony matter if Timmy was lying in the cold ground?  In theory, a witch wasn't supposed to be capable of genuine love, yet Timmy had somehow gotten around all her defenses and warmed the heart she didn't even know she had.

            Tabitha could of course build another Timmy doll, but it would never be like this one.  She'd had a Timmy of some sorts throughout most of her lifetimes, but they had always been little more than voodoo dolls, tools to an end.  No, this one was special, irreplaceable.  There would never be another Timmy, and she would never try to make one.

            "No, I've never accepted defeat without a fight and I'm not going to start now," Tabitha resolved.  "There must be a way to save him that I just haven't thought of yet.  Let's see, I've already tried praying but that was a wash, and the dark forces surely wouldn't go out of their way to save someone who was hurt fighting them.  Timmy said that if Charity died he would die.  Perhaps a connection was established through that cursed horn."

            The horn—of course it was the horn!  The type of magic used to destroy Zombie Blondie creates a permanent link between those who cast it.  One couldn't survive the aftermath without the other.  And Charity, being the chosen Standish and all, was the cornerstone.  If she were to be healed, Timmy would be fine!

            Unfortunately, that didn't leave Tabitha any better off, since she had no idea as to how she could fix up the brat anyhow.   "If only I knew what to do, whatever it was, I'd do it," she vowed solemnly.

            Just then, Toto barked and jumped up and down frantically.

            Tabitha, who was not exactly in the most patient mood at the moment, shouted, "Oh hush up, you stupid mutt, do you want to upset Timmy?!"  She was about to grab the dog when she noticed that he seemed to be glowing.  Not only that, but he was also getting gradually bigger and somewhat longer limbed.  The transformation was soon completed and standing before Tabitha was none other than the Little Angel Girl!

            "You were Toto all along," Tabitha declared, still somewhat in shock.

            "Yes, I've been disguised in the form of a dog in order to protect Timmy."

            "Hah, fat lot of good that's done him in the end.  What are you going to do, offer a couple cryptic warnings and float away?"

            "No, Tabitha, I've come to tell you that it IS possible to save Timmy, if you really want to."

            "Of course I do, Timmy's everything to me.  I'll do anything you ask of me," Tabitha said through gritted teeth.  How she loathed having to bow to her sworn enemies.

            "Then you must save Charity.  You and only you have the power to save her."

            "How can that be possible?  Why would your boss let things happen that way?  I'm evil, why would you leave such an important task to me?"

            "Fate works in mysterious ways Tabitha, you should understand that.  We still have a score to settle but right now, Charity and Timmy are our priorities.  Feel the power, you know you have it."

            Tabitha was about to reply, but just then the Little Angel Girl disappeared.

Typical.  Once again, she hadn't really been any help whatsoever in the actual instructions department.  At least evil isn't so frustratingly vague all the time.  

Tabitha was about to panic when she suddenly felt a warm strength inside her, and she realized that she did indeed have the power the Angel had spoken of.  The evildoer wondered for a second whether God had granted it to her or had merely called attention to what had been inside of her all the time.  Well, there was only one thing to do now.  Tabitha wasn't unaware of the irony: she who had spent nearly all of her time and energy trying to destroy Charity would be the one to save her from what would otherwise be certain death.  She didn't care, though.  Let her friends in the basement come after her; she'd worry about that later.  Timmy needed her, and he was well worth whatever the consequences might be.  Knowing instinctively what to do, Tabitha began reciting an incantation that she had never before heard but somehow knew intuitively…

*****

In a nearby cubicle, Miguel had to be restrained from running to Charity by Hank, Pilar, and Grace, as Sam oddly insisted on pulling the plug himself.

With a lump in his throat, the chief of police turned off Charity's life support.  Miguel shrieked, Jessica and Grace wailed, Simone glared a bit and muttered about Kay being evil, and Kay had a look of torment and guilt on her face.  It was all over for Charity Standish.

"I want to go with her," Miguel whispered mechanically.

"No, Miguel, you know you can't do that.  Suicide is a mortal sin.  You'd go to hell forever, and then you'd never be with Charity again," Pilar insisted tearfully.

"I just can't believe this, Mama.  Charity and Theresa in one night, it's too much."

Pilar smiled a little as she at least had some comforting words for her grieving child.  "That's what I came here to tell you, mi hijo.  Our Therasita is alive."

Miguel looked dumbstruck (as usual).  "Mama, how can you say something like that?  She was executed earlier this night.  We all saw her!"

"No, she wasn't!  Alistair had her drugged, making it seem as though she had died, in order to get Julian to come home."

Miguel's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.  "Julian's alive too?!  But he was murdered!"

            "Apparently not, Miguel; he arrived at the mansion not long ago.  Anyway, Theresa is there too, with her baby, reuniting with Antonio."

            Miguel was now VERY confused.  "Antonio?"

            "Yes, he arrived home less than an hour ago.  He wants to be part of the family again, and make up for the time he has missed."

            Miguel's mind was swimming, trying to balance the wonderful news he'd just received with the crushing loss of Charity that had just occurred.  On one hand, two prayers had just been miraculously answered, but on the other the love of his life had perished in a way he would probably never understand.  

            At that instant, a blinding flash of pure white light engulfed the room, and for a few moments afterwards, he could see only spots.  As his vision cleared, everything somehow seemed different, but before his brain could compute what had just happened, a voice he thought he'd never hear again called his name…


	3. The Prosaically Named Chapter 3

Back at the mansion, Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Crane was having what had turned out to be a very good day.  For the first time in months, things mostly seemed to be going her way.  Not only had she not been executed (a fact which alone made everything else seem pretty rosy), but Antonio had come back to town, her every look was causing Rebecca and Ivy to squirm, and, best of all, Ethan was completely overjoyed that she was alive, and bonding with Ethan-Martin!  She couldn't believe that he had not killed Julian, and though this made her confession and near-execution ultimately pointless, it was all worth it when he realized that she loved him enough to die for him.  She could just see it now: Ethan would dump Gwen, she'd get a divorce from Julian, and they could marry and be a family with her son.  If only Ethan had really been the father of her baby!  Still, his paternity wouldn't matter since Ethan will adopt her baby and be his father in every way that matters, making sure that the Cranes won't taint him.      

Above all things, this concern was foremost on Theresa's mind.  Before his birth, Theresa had forced herself to think of him as Julian's child, like some sort of subhuman creature growing inside of her.  When she finally held him in her arms, though, he suddenly became HER baby, the most wonderful baby in the entire world, who couldn't help having Crane blood any more than a wonderful person like poor Sheridan could.  Her baby was totally innocent, and Theresa would see to it that he stays that way.  She would not let him be warped by Alistair and Julian, who would surely corrupt him completely until he was a mirror image of them.  Theresa shivered a bit at the thought, but then collected herself; there was absolutely no danger of that happening, and Ethan would be a wonderful father to Ethan-Martin.

            Although Theresa was sure of herself, she was not nearly as naïve as she once was.  She knew perfectly well that Ivy, Rebecca, and Gwen would have a scheme or two to sabotage her.  No matter, she'd face them and weather it through.  Once, she would have trembled and cried at any threats like this, but she was no longer a doe-eyed innocent.  Ivy and Rebecca had seen to that, and they were soon going to realize the fruits of their labors.

*****

            "She knows we had her killed, Rebecca!  Face it, we're done for," Ivy Winthrop Crane hissed to her partner in crime as they watched Theresa nervously from the other side of the living room.

            "Little Miss Enchilada can't prove it, Ivy.  She can't do anything to us," Rebecca Hotchkiss replied with more confidence than she felt.

            "Oh, nothing but taunt and torment us, and plan God knows what to slowly torture us," Ivy scoffed.  "I don't trust her one bit.  She's changed, got this look in her eyes that she didn't have before, like she's capable of anything. I—"

            "And what are my two wayward wrongdoing women whispering about?," Julian asked, having snuck up behind the duo in order to startle them.  "It surely doesn't have anything to do with my nubile young bride and that phony surveillance tape, does it?"

            Ivy was about to counter with one of her patented sarcastic replies when one of the servants entered the room.  "Mr. Crane, your daughter Laura was in a car accident on her way home from school.  She was fairly close to home and has been taken to Harmony Hospital where she's in serious condition."

            Ivy's heart lurched in her chest.  She'd never been particularly close to any of her three daughters, since she'd always focused on Ethan, but they were still her children and she cared about them greatly in her own way.  Lately, she'd been feeling guilty about neglecting her girls, and had recently resolved to set things right with them.  If anything were to happen to Laura, she didn't know if she'd be able to handle the guilt.

            Ivy glanced up at Julian, who to his credit did look suitably upset at the news, like he needed a good stiff drink.  He looked at her, and ordered the servant to ready a car to take them to the hospital.  For once neither seemed to want to argue.  Ethan wished to come, of course, and Theresa and Gwen were certainly going with him, and Rebecca elected to come along as well to support Gwen and keep an eye on Theresa, and to be close to her "pookie."

*****

            Dr. Eve Russell was having a strange and busy night.  Charity and Timmy had mysteriously sustained injuries which seemed physically impossible, but very clearly fatal.  Then, after a flash of light, they both suddenly recover, in perfect health, though both were very tired.  None of this could possibly be happening, but then again, she reminded herself, she'd thought the same thing last year when she had witnessed the men fighting demons and Sam and Grace's house being sucked into the earth.  Oh well, she decided, she'd just accept the unacceptable and be thankful that the Bennetts were friends and therefore would not slap her with a malpractice suit for insisting Charity would die and advising she be taken off of life support.

            Then, a car crash victim was wheeled in, who turned out to be none other than Laura Crane, youngest daughter of Julian and Ivy, her two least favorite people in the world.  As she attended to her, Dr. Eve's anger kept rising to the forefront, but she managed to control it and concentrate on her work.  At first, things looked bad for the Crane girl, but Dr. Eve managed to stabilize her.  She would remain unconscious for a bit longer, but would make a full recovery.

            Harder to deal with was the drill session she received once Ivy and Julian arrived at the hospital.  She had barely managed to be civil with the two, but had finally managed to satisfy them.  Though Laura appeared to be doing fine, Dr. Eve thought it best to take a blood sample and test for any congenital conditions that might cause complications. 

*****

            Ivy nervously wheeled back and forth, anxiously waiting to be allowed in to see Laura.  She wanted to be there, but she was afraid her daughter might resent her and not want her around.  What would she say once she awoke, how would she apologize for paying so little attention in the past?  Ivy decided to take a valium, but paused briefly to wonder if that would mix well with the pain pills and champagne.  _Oh what the hell, she thought.  __I've done it plenty of times before and there haven't been any serious side effects to speak of!_

            As Ivy spun around, she flew right into Sam Bennett, knocking him backward a few feet.

            "Ivy, what are you doing here?" Sam asked in a suspicious tone.           

"Well, if you must know, Sam, my daughter's been in a car accident," Ivy replied testily, slightly annoyed since she actually wasn't scheming to get Sam back for once!  "Why are _you here?"_

Sam looked contrite.  "I'm sorry, Ivy.  Charity was hurt really badly in some sort of fight.  She wasn't supposed to make it, but she's fine now.  Don't ask me how or why, because I honestly don't know.  How's your daughter?"

"Laura's unconscious right now, but she's going to be okay."

"I'm glad to hear that.  Say, isn't she your youngest, the one who's the same age as my Kay?"

"Yes, that's right; they were born at almost exactly the same time, weren't they?  I remember now, Grace and I were in the hospital at the same time.  Huh, odd coincidence," Ivy muttered, half to herself.

"Yes, well, I'd better get back," Sam said, vaguely uncomfortable, and dashed off.

*****

Dr. Eve studied the results of Laura's blood test.  Everything seemed normal, but the doctor decided to compare her results to those of her parents, just to be on the safe side and look for family conditions.  Luckily the hospital had the results of previously taken samples of both Ivy and Julian's blood on file.  

Dr. Eve did a quick comparison and couldn't believe her eyes_.  No, this can't be, I'm looking at this wrong, that's all.  The good doctor did a double check, this time more thoroughly.  The same outcome.  She then did a triple check, and a quadruple check.  No difference.  After the fifth check, Dr. Eve had to accept that she was reading it properly, and that there was only one conclusion that could possibly be reached.  Oh God, the ramifications of her findings would shake Harmony to the core!_


	4. The Prosaically Named Chapter 4

Alistair stared at Cassandra, mouth agape, for several moments before he managed to stammer out, "Cah-Cah-Cassandra, l-long time, n-no see."

            "For pity's sake, Alistair," Cassandra replied scornfully.  "I'm well aware that the standards for exchanging pleasantries have plummeted in the past few centuries, but I still expected you to do better than that."

            Alistair gulped.  "Please forgive me, but it's just such a surprise to see you.  You haven't been here in nearly thirty years, and I heard that you were, well, sort of—"

            "Dead?" she finished for him.  He nodded.  "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm most definitely still alive.  Well, **undead, at any rate."  She smiled a bit more fiendishly after her last sentence.**

            "Then you hadn't been done in by that hunter eight years back," Alistair said, half to himself.  Damn it, he'd been in charge for so long now, and this was one adversary he would not be able to rid himself of!

            "You are a sharp one, Alistair," she snickered as she sauntered up to him in the other side of the room, yet despite her leisurely pace it was quite clear that she was easily capable of moving at lightning speed if she so wished.  Her hunter green outfit obviously came from a top Parisian fashion house, but though her dress was wholly modern, even cutting edge, it seemed to have an old-fashioned, almost ancient look when she wore it.  "It's always comforting to know that the Crane fortunes are safe in the hands of a man who can just look at me, standing in front of him, and actually deduce that I have not been killed!

            "You see, when I left for Europe to take care of a few "business" matters, I had fully expected to be back here in a year or two to oversee the family's affairs, but there were so many unforeseen setbacks that the time just kept slipping away.  Then, as you so obligingly reminded me, that horrid man latched onto my trail and chased me around half the continent.  Let me tell you, this world's not what it used to be.  Once, you could cut a bloody path a thousand miles long with little hassle.  Nowadays, a few drained bodies are found in a ten-mile radius and they're onto you!  Anyway, he eventually caught up with me, as you indicated, and very nearly had me, but he missed my heart by about half an inch.  Still, I was forced to lie low, appearing to be dead while biding my time, these past few years.  Of course, I eventually took care of him, and here I am, twenty-nine years later, trying to fathom what a great mess you've made.  That fellow really was clever, you know, the most dangerous vampire hunter I've ever run into.  Unfortunately for him, I've learned a few tricks in the past three-hundred-and-fifty years."  As she said this last part, she smiled extra wide, showing all of her teeth, and Alistair had no doubt about just what became of her pursuer.

            Though intimidated, Alistair still felt obligated to defend himself.  She was the only person who was ever able to make him feel inadequate, and he wasn't going to take it quietly at this stage of his life.  "I'm the reason the Cranes are where they are today!  I've built up the industries until they were a global corporation, accumulated power until we could influence world superpowers, and made us the envy of all!"

            "I'll admit that you were more than adequate in furthering the family's financial status, though much of your success as always was made possible by my work well behind the scenes.  However, you've run the family itself so far into the ground that if you're allowed to continue there won't BE any Cranes left to enjoy the wealth, and furthermore, anyone who knew the facts and wanted to be a Crane at this point must be a little funny in the head."

            Alistair couldn't believe this.  He, one of the most powerful men in the entire world, was being chastised like an errant child.  In a slightly petulant tone, Alistair muttered under his breath, "Typical melodramatic vampire, always exaggerating."

            Cassandra Crane, however, had excellent hearing.  "Exaggerating, you say?  Let's see:  Julian, unfortunately our heir, is constantly suffering through murder attempts by the locals.  Granted, he is the most embarrassing of all my descendents, but that doesn't mean a Crane should allow the riffraff a chance at finishing off one of their own.  He's got three slightly deranged women battling it out for the title of Mrs. Crane, a son with the former fiancée of the phony Crane Ethan, and three other children who are so estranged they hardly even fit into our little "melodrama" as of yet.  Finally, there's Sheridan, your daughter, whom you actually have the nerve to order dead, and you know I don't approve of one Crane murdering another.  An outsider is fine, if necessary and concealable, but not family."

            "But, if she marries Luis, he may find out about the Martin Fitzgerald incident!" Alistair exclaimed.

            "We'll take care of that if and when it happens.  That's still no excuse to get rid of her!  I didn't spend the last three and a half centuries building up my family to see them all killed off.  What's the point of us gaining this level of power if each and every Crane doesn't bask in the victory?"

            Alistair was now fuming.  "Sheridan is a silly, useless bother; worse, she's an active threat to the Crane name.  Speaking of which, what's the significance of the loss of a troublesome female here and there, when there's still a male to carry on the name?"

            Faster than he could blink, Alistair found himself staring down at Cassandra, who had grabbed him by the throat before he knew she had moved, and squeezed just hard enough so that he knew she meant business.  "You're lucky I follow my rule, or I'd get rid of you right now," she snarled.  "I may have tolerated that attitude back when I was alive, but this is the twenty-first century, or haven't you noticed?  In this day and age, you continue to hold onto your outdated, chauvinistic views about women.  You groomed your imbecile son for leadership, but never even considered your daughter, by far the superior of the two."

            Alistair attempted a scoff, but it came out as more of a gurgle.  "Sheridan?"

            "Yes, Sheridan.  It's far too late now, of course.  She'll never be a proper Crane, but she's got the basic qualities: intelligence, resilience, an inner toughness without which she'd probably be certifiable by this point, a quick wit, and an ability to survive the impossible which even baffles _me at times.  What's more, she always had such an overpowering need for love and approval that, had she been given the proper attention as a child, could have been used to mold her quite impressively.  Unfortunately, you chose instead to neglect her, and once she found Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, we lost her for good.  Now that she's here, we wait, see what develops between her and the two brothers, and decide our course from there.  It's really my fault; if I'd been here, things never would've gotten this out of hand.  Well, I'm back now and I intend to keep a close eye on everything that goes on, to make sure you don't botch anything else up."  After she finished, she released the industrialist, who stood gasping for breath for a minute or two._

            When he recovered, he glanced at his ancestor suspiciously.  "How do you know so much?  Sheridan hadn't even been born when you were here last, and you seem to know more about her than I do!"

            Cassandra now looked at him in utter disgust.  "Honestly, Alistair, you're starting to seem as thick as your inebriated son.  I'm a vampire, for goodness sake!  I'm not about to give up my secrets, but I have ways of keeping on top of events that are far more effective your hidden cameras and microphones.  Now, tell one of your maids to ready a suite, preferably without windows and mirrors, of course.  I'm moving in!"


	5. The Prosaically Named Chapter 5

            In the cottage, Sheridan Crane held her breath.  She'd finally worked up the nerve after Antonio and Luis began to plan the double wedding.  She had just blurted out the whole story, as fast as she could so they couldn't interrupt her, and now had to endure a moment of deafening silence as the men she loved stared at her in shock.

            Then, Luis roared angrily and threw a punch at his brother.  Antonio punched back, and the two were off fighting again.  Sheridan just couldn't believe this.  Why was she being punished like this?  What had she done to fall in love with two brothers a thousand miles apart and not know about it due to amnesia?  It was just so ridiculous, a part of her actually wanted to laugh at the absurd joke her entire life had turned out to be, while the rest of her was trying to sort out her feelings for the two.

            First there was "Brian," or as she corrected herself, Antonio.  He was so handsome caring, brave, and thoughtful.  There was no doubt that she cared deeply for him, and was very grateful for all he had done for her, but was it really love?  She had thought so, but it wasn't really her, but Diana, who had fallen in love with him.  Diana.  Sheridan automatically winced at the thought of what an insipid, incompetent twit she had been the past few months: constantly wandering off and needing to be saved from drowning, asking if there were any gazebos in Harmony, calling Luis things like "the man she loved and lost," thinking that she could test-drive racecars and worst of all, running up a gigantic gambling debt when she should've known that it was a set-up.  Maybe she'd had a concussion or something.  Anyhow, if Diana was such a moron, could she really trust the feelings she had as her?

            Then there was Luis, whom she had loved with such great passion that a part of her felt he must be her true love.  He was so dashing, and hot, and made every second he was with her filled with excitement.  However, he had some very serious faults: he was undeniably hotheaded, sometimes controlling, and always resorted to violence.  Why, he had attacked Antonio, no questions asked, just for showing up!  Is this really the sort of person you'd want to live with all time?  Also, if he really is her one great love, how could she have developed such strong feelings for his brother, amnesia or no amnesia?  She would have thought that this choice would be a no-brainer, but instead it was extraordinarily difficult.  She also knew that she had been happy with "Brian" in a past life, and there had been nothing but misery for her and Luis.  If they were really this doomed, maybe it would be better for both of them if she chose to be happy with Brian, especially if she and Luis could never be together anyway.

            At any rate, Sheridan needed to stop the fight.  They were both starting to look battered, though Antonio looked the worse for wear, and they were smashing even more of her possessions.  She was afraid to get right in it, and didn't know if her voice alone was enough to stop it.  She toyed briefly with the idea of bringing someone else in, but who?  She didn't know where to look for anyone, and even if she found them, they'd be so shocked at seeing Sheridan Crane alive that she'd never get them back in time.   She might be able to find Ethan at the mansion, but if Luis was right and Julian and Alistair really had tried to kill her, then that was the last place she wanted to go.  A few seconds went by, and CRASH!, a vase that had belonged to her mother shattered into a million pieces.

            That did it.  "Cut it out!" Sheridan yelled at the top of her lungs.  Luis and Antonio both stopped in mid pummel and stared at her.  "I will NOT stand here and let the two of you kill each other, though quite frankly that would actually make things a lot less confused right now.  I'm sorry about this mess, but I can't help it any more than you can."

            Antonio immediately looked remorseful.  "I'm sorry, Di-Sheridan, this all must be so hard on you right now.  I was acting like an idiot, and wasn't even considering your feelings."  He held her hands tenderly in quiet support.

            "You keep your hands off of my fiancée!" Luis fumed.  "Sheridan, tell him that he can take a hike now that you've got your memory back."

            Antonio glared at his brother.  "Lay off, Luis!  Sheridan's been through enough without you yelling at her!"

            "I'm not about to take orders from you!  Sheridan, tell him you want nothing to do with him now that you have your memory back."

            Sheridan couldn't believe what she was hearing.  "I can't do that, Luis.  I care about both of you!"

            Luis felt crushed.  "But you love me, not him, right?"  When Sheridan didn't answer right away, he continued.  "Right?  You want to marry me?"  When she was silent once again, Luis voiced his frustration.  "Sheridan, you've gotta choose right now, once and for all, him or me!"

            Throughout all of this, Sheridan's anger rose steadily.  Who was Luis, to nearly kill his own brother and almost destroy her living room, then yell at Antonio, who was just being understanding, for having the nerve to "touch" her, and finally give out ultimatums when she hadn't even had time to come to grips with what just happened?  What, was she a piece of missing luggage that he was having trouble reclaiming?  She'd obviously been mistaken about him, and was glad to have had a chance to see this side of Luis before marrying him.

            Taking a deep breath, she answered Luis.  "Thank you, Luis.  This might have been the hardest, most confusing thing that's ever happened to me, but you've made it very simple.  You just told me I had to choose and I've found it surprisingly easy to make my decision."  Luis grinned, confident that his beloved was going to pick him, and Sheridan continued speaking.  "I've decided which man I want to marry—I choose Antonio!"

*****

            At the hospital, everyone had gradually congregated in the lounge, with the exception of Miguel and Tabitha, who understandably wanted to stay near their respective loved ones.  Those who didn't know that Theresa and Julian were alive were in for a bit of a shock to see them, but that shock soon wore off, since Harmony's residents were by now used to seeing supposedly dead people strolling by.  TC predictably ranted about hating Julian and tried to kill him, but he was quickly restrained by Sam and Hank, and calmed down until he was merely seething.

            As Dr. Eve walked in, a belligerent Julian and Ivy demanded to know the results of Laura's blood tests.

            "So, Eve, how are they?  Are the results good?" Ivy demanded.  She wasn't in the best of moods right now, what with Theresa's reappearance, worrying about her daughter, and the combined effects of painkillers, liquor, and valium that were once more having a decisively negative influence on her personality.

            "Well," Dr. Eve answered, not knowing exactly how to break this news, but not worrying too much about the recipients' feelings right now.  It was the rest of what she had to say that was going to be so hard.  "As far as the blood test goes, I have good news and bad news."

            Julian grunted impatiently.  "Come on, Eve, have at it!  Is my daughter doing to be okay?"

            "The good news is that Laura tested negative for any underlying conditions.  She's going to make a full recovery.  The bad news, well, Julian, the bad news is that she's not your daughter."

            After staring blankly for a moment, Julian promptly turned on Ivy, grabbing her by the wrists.  "So, my little SLUT of an ex-wife, Ethan wasn't the only one, was he?  You got knocked up and deceived me yet again!  Just out of curiosity, "dearest," are any of my children actually MINE?!"

            Ivy, though just as stunned as Julian was, had been put in a fighting mood by Julian's words.  She promptly spit out a reply: "As much as I would love to be able to tell you otherwise, yes, you unfortunately are the father of **all of my daughters!"**

            "And why should I take the word of a two-timing whore?!  You probably thought if you kept pretending the others are Cranes, you'd be able to claim more of MY money!  I'd like to know, my paralyzed pet, was this one by your precious Sam as well, or was it something more like a fling with the pool boy?"

            By this time, everyone in the lounge was crowded around Dr. Eve, Julian, and Ivy.  Sam immediately swore that it certainly wasn't him, Grace couldn't help looking at her husband somewhat suspiciously, Hank said "whoa," Jessica got really upset, and Kay was torn.  She didn't know whether to be amused that someone in her family might not really be as impossibly good as she thought they were, or annoyed that in a few months she could be Christmas shopping for yet another Bennett bastard.

            Dr. Eve knew that she had to stop this, and raised her voice above the melee.  "You misunderstood me, Julian.  She's not Ivy's child either!"

            The noise abruptly ceased, and Ivy and Julian stared at the good doctor.  "What do you mean?!" the two demanded in unison.

            "I compared her test to results for both of you that the hospital had on file.  I'm sorry, but she doesn't match either of you.  The only explanation is that she was switched at birth."

            "Then, we have a daughter who's out there somewhere," Ivy gasped.

            "Father is not going to be happy about this," muttered Julian.

            "Shut up, and stop sniveling," Ivy ordered.  "Eve, do you have any idea who she could've been switched with?"

            This was the part that Dr. Eve really didn't want to reveal, but the truth had to come out, and sooner was better than later.  "I checked to see who else was born here at that time, and almost all of the children were males.  In fact, only one other girl was born in the right time span.  I'm sorry," she said, glancing in Sam and Grace's direction, "but though we'll need to do tests to be sure, I'm confident, that the only other girl who could have been switched is Kay Bennett!"


	6. The Prosaically Named Chapter 6

_Strange, Kay thought, __this should be the most horrible news imaginable, so why do I feel so...numb?_

            As she watched the fallout around her, she had the sensation that she was looking in at the event from far away.  Even when her "parents" grabbed her, hugging her so hard she felt like she would be smothered, and telling her that there was surely some mistake, she felt oddly detached, as if she weren't actually there at all.  Through expressionless eyes, Kay watched the various reactions: her "Uncle" Hank's incredulity, Jessica's tears, Simone's glaring, TC's accusatory stare, and Ivy and Julian's wide-eyed appraisal.  She'd never noticed it before, but her coloring _was very similar to Julian's, and her features as a whole, especially her eyes, were really not unlike Ivy's._

            It all made perfect sense, come to think of it.  Everyone was always talking about how evil the Cranes were, and Kay knew Ivy was a consummate schemer, always going after her dad, or rather, after Sam.  She wasn't the black sheep of an otherwise virtuous family, but rather the long-lost but nevertheless exemplary member of another clan!

            This also explained her family's attitude towards her.  They claimed to love her, and possibly even thought they did, but Kay knew that, even before Charity's arrival, they had never really had a connection with her.  Grace, possessing some sort of weird intuition, probably sensed subconsciously that there was something "off" about her, and consequently held back.  Although this truth hurt Kay, there was a certain level of comfort in the knowledge that this other girl was supposed to be Sam and Grace's daughter, Jessica and Noah's sister, and Charity's cousin.  It wasn't really her fault at all!  One little thought began eating away at her, though.  Did it also mean that this Laura was actually supposed to be Miguel's best friend?  Should she even know him except as the son of a servant?

            Her reverie was broken when Simone approached her and began hissing so that nobody else could hear.  "I knew it!  You are evil, Kay!  Evil, evil, evil!  I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner.  Mr. and Mrs. Bennett could never have a daughter like **you!  Only a Crane would try to kill Charity so she could get Miguel, and invite evil back into Harmony!"**

            Simone was about to keep going, but TC grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her away.  "I'm sorry, sugarbear, but I have to protect you from evil, and the Cranes are as evil as they come."  TC's attention then turned to Kay.  "And as for you, now that you're a Crane, I don't want you coming anywhere near my family again.  No daughter of Julian's is going to associate with MY child!"

            Sam instinctively positioned himself between Kay and his psychopathic buddy.  "You're my best friend, TC, but I don't let anybody threaten my daughter!"

            TC snorted.  "Didn't you hear what my wife said?  She isn't your daughter, man, she's Julian's!"

            "Look, we don't have any proof that Kay isn't ours, and I refuse to believe it."

            Just when it looked as if the two would come to blows, Hank stepped in.  "I hate to say this, bro, but it sounds like Eve's right."

            Grace took Sam's hand, and said to Kay, "I pray that the test will show that you're ours, but even if you're not related genetically, I want you to know that you'll always be our daughter."  With these words, Grace attempted to hug Kay again, but the girl refused to respond.

            "Nice, sentiment, "Mom," but you've never acted like my mother, and I don't see why you should start now that it's turned out you're not."  Grace looked hurt, and Sam tried to say something, but Kay cut him off.  "Just don't, please, don't.  I don't wanna hear it."

            Dr. Eve once again intervened and addressed Sam, Grace, and Kay.  "I'm sorry, but you'll probably want to do a DNA test.  The results should be available late tomorrow if we take it now.  Follow me, please."  With that, the three of them left with the doctor, leaving everybody else in the lounge to sort through what just happened.

*****

            Ethan Winthrop stared quizzically after the departing group, flanked by Gwen Hotchkiss on one side and Theresa and the baby on the other.  "I can't believe it, Laura and Kay aren't my sisters!"

            Theresa leaned into him sympathetically and said, "This must be so hard for you, Ethan.  I just want you to know that I'm here if you need somebody to talk to."  She looked up at him demurely, ready to soothe away the hurt he must be feeling.

            Gwen couldn't help staring at both of them incredulously.  She wanted to attack Theresa for throwing herself at Ethan, but decided instead to direct her comments to Ethan's remark.  "Um, Ethan, not that it's still not really hard or anything, but if Laura was switched with Kay, then they're still your sisters."

            Ethan didn't seem to comprehend.  "But, they've been switched!  How can I still be related?"

            Gwen sighed and bit her tongue a bit.  "If Laura is Sam and Grace's daughter, and Kay is Ivy and Julian's, then they're still your half-sisters, since you still share one parent with each.  Before, Laura was related through your mother and Kay through your father, but now it's the other way around."

            Ethan thought really hard for a minute, until the meaning of his girlfriend's words finally sunk in.  "They've switched places, then, but only with each other so since they were both my sisters before they're still my sisters!"

            Gwen forced a smile.  "Yes, Ethan, that's it!"

            Ethan grinned happily but then looked confused.  "How does that work again?"

            Gwen quickly excused herself, and went over to her mother, who of course had been listening in the whole time.

            "Honestly, mother, I swear I love Ethan with all of my heart, but sometimes I don't know how he got through law school, even as a Crane."

            "Never mind that," Rebecca advised, somewhat agitated.  "You're giving Terrorcita a chance to work her wiles on him.  You've got to get back in there and fight for your man!"

            "I don't know mother.  Sometimes I feel like if I have to battle Theresa at all times, it's not worth it.  He keeps refusing her, but I know he'd still rather be with her than me, and I don't want to end up in a marriage where I'm my husband's second choice."

            Rebecca stared at her daughter as if she'd grown a second head.  "You must take after your father, since I don't understand a word you're staying.  Let me put it this way, do you want to lose to Theresa again?"

            "Well, no.  But—"

            "Then no buts, Gwennie.  Now get back there!"

            Gwen gave up arguing and began moving over to Ethan, but was intercepted by Hank.  "So, Gwen, what are you up to, stirring up trouble again?"

            The nerve of this guy!  "No, I'm just going to be with Ethan now, which I have every right to, seeing as he's with ME now, not Theresa."

            "A situation which I'm sure you had a little hand in.  I watched you last year, and I knew you were planning something.  I just didn't think you'd succeed in breaking up those two.  Ethan loved her so much."

            Gwen suppressed the pang of guilt she felt at having deceived Ethan, and replied in an even tone.  "Well, he obviously didn't love her as much as you thought, did he?  Now, if you'll excuse me, I think Ethan needs me right now."

            She fled Hank as quickly as she could without seeming panicked, but she could feel his eyes upon her.  Why did her stomach lurch a bit whenever she talked to Hank?  She wasn't interested in him, certainly.  After all, Ethan was the one she loved, and would always love.  Still, she remembered the time before Ethan and Theresa's botched wedding when he'd asked her to go out for coffee.  She had almost said yes, until she remembered all the plotting she'd done to get Ethan back.  No, it couldn't mean anything, she just must have been feeling particularly lonely and vulnerable at that time.  Focusing her mind on Ethan, she started thinking of a subtle, non-bitchy way to pry Theresa off of him.

*****     

            Hank Bennett watched Gwen go with more than a little regret.  He knew she was a schemer, someone who shouldn't be trusted.  However, nobody's perfect, and Hank himself had no shortage of skeletons in his closet.  How could he ever let himself forget, for example, the time the drug cartel had forced him to kill Sheridan and he had cooked up the whole "bury her alive" scheme that had so nearly ended tragically?  Gwen had, he had no doubt in his mind, orchestrated, with a little help from Rebecca, the situation that eventually led to Ethan leaving Theresa.  Whenever he was with Gwen, though, he could see glimpses of a warm, vibrant, and spirited young woman who had more of a moral compass than most would give her credit for.  If only someone would get her away from her mother, whom he figured was behind all of Gwen's lapses, and convince her that she didn't need Ethan, Hank knew that Gwen could be wonderful, someone he could possibly...love?


	7. The Prosaically Named Chapter 7

Simone was, in fact, more than happy to leave Kay alone.  Kay was evil, a monster, willing to call on evil to get a guy.  Simone would never do anything like that.  _Not that I'd have to, of course, Simone thought to herself happily.  __I have __Chad__, and nothing will ever take him away from me.  We will be together forever._

            This thought put a very wide grin on Simone's face, and she decided to check on him.  After all, they had not seen each other since earlier that night, and she knew how lonely he got without her.  Oh sure, he sometimes acted kind of awkward, but that was only because he has a hard time expressing his feelings.  Humming a happy tune, Simone began walking home.

            On the way she thought mostly about Chad, and what a great boyfriend he was, but also about Kay.  Not only was she evil, but she's also a little pathetic as well.  Imagine going through all that trouble for someone who doesn't even want you!  Talk about delusional; Kay should be able to see that Miguel loves Charity, not her.  After all, when you really love someone you're tuned into their feelings, like she was with Chad.  She could just look at Chad and see how much he loved her, and Kay should likewise be able to look at Miguel and tell that he doesn't, and never will.

            Anyway, that was enough thinking about Kay.  She was about to see Chad again!  Maybe he'd have something for her, but it didn't really matter either way.  Just being around him was enough for her.  She finally got to the Russell doorstep and just stood for a moment, knowing Chad was on the other side of the door.

            When Simone entered the kitchen, she saw that Chad and Whitney had been eating a late night snack.  How wonderful that her sister and her boyfriend were finally getting along!  When Chad saw her, he had a look of surprise on his face that was really very adorable.  Simone squealed with delight and engulfed him in a big hug, exclaiming, "Oh Chad, I've missed you so much."  
            Simone noticed that Chad acted somewhat uncomfortable, no doubt due to the fact that Whitney was still in the room and he was afraid of public displays of affection.  "Um, Simone, ya know, I saw you a few hours ago, right after Theresa's execution."

            "Oh I know Chad, but it seems like ages since I was with you last.  I need to tell you how I feel about you…"   Simone began babbling incessantly, telling exactly what she was thinking about him each minute they were parted, but nothing else about the past several hours.  She was so wrapped up in her ramblings that she didn't notice that both Whitney and Chad were trying to interrupt her stream of consciousness, though she had the oddest feeling that there was something else she should say, something that didn't have to do with Chad...

            Theresa!  Whitney would probably like to know that her best friend's still alive, so at the end of her ode, she turned to Whitney and added, "Oh, and Whit, Theresa wasn't executed, Alistair just gave her injections so she'd seem dead, so that Julian, who was really just in hiding would come back!"

            As soon as Simone's news sunk in, Whitney hugged her sister, crying, "I can't believe it, thank you so much Simone!"

            Simone smiled smugly, but the smile faded when Whitney asked where Theresa was now.  Hmmm, was she still at the mansion?  No, that didn't seem right.  She felt like she should know where Theresa was, but between thinking about Chad and yelling at Kay at the hospital, she hadn't noticed much else.  The hospital!  When the news broke about Kay being a Crane, Theresa was one of the people standing around and watching!

            "She's at the hospital, Whit, and Ethan and the baby are there too."  Simone was quite proud of herself for remembering.  She then walked back over to Chad and wrapped her arms around him possessively.  "Why don't we all go to the hospital?  Just about everyone else we know is there right now."  Chad and Whitney agreed, and Simone dragged Chad along, with Whitney following along.  She noticed both he and her sister looked a little funny, but that was surely due to the surprise of finding out that Theresa was alive.

*****

            Luis was stunned.  Sheridan was unquestionably the love of his life, and she was going to marry his brother?!  Upon reflection, he didn't really mind that Sheridan had moved on in her life.  After all, he had asked Beth to marry him earlier this same night, but although he did care about Beth, he didn't have to think twice before breaking things off with her and going back to Sheridan.  It was simply no contest: someone with whom he could be comfortable and content, or the great passionate love of his life, or as it had turned out, of his lives.  Did she truly not love him the way that he loved her?  The anguish he suffered at that thought went beyond rage.  He felt completely empty, like Sheridan had just ripped open his chest and torn his heart out.  His devastation reached so deep that, right now, he didn't even think to punch Antonio.  All he could do was look at Sheridan, the hurt plainly evident in his liquid brown eyes.

            Antonio Brian Lopez-Fitzgerald, conversely, was ecstatically happy.  He had been so worried that when his Diana recovered her memory, he would lose her.  Now here she was, none other than Sheridan Crane, daughter of one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the world, and formerly engaged to his own brother to boot, and yet she chose him!  He couldn't control himself, and kissed her passionately.  After a few seconds, though, he remembered his brother's temper, and quickly broke off the embrace in order to defend himself.  However, when he faced his brother, he saw the look of a man that had been utterly broken.  Instantly, a wave of guilt washed over him, but though he tried to find something to say to Luis, no words came.  Somehow, he didn't think, "I know I ran off over a decade ago and haven't attempted to contact you since, leaving you responsible for the family and unable to live your own life, only to come back out of the blue engaged to the love of your life, but I'm really, really sorry," would make his brother feel any better.

            Luis finally worked up the energy to speak.  "Sheridan, how can you say that after all we've been through together?  Don't you remember how in love we were?  I've already lost you twice, first when you were buried alive and then when I thought you were blown up in the boat explosion and the hurricane hit.  I can't lose you again, I just can't!  You're everything to me, don't you feel the same?"  Luis implored.

            Sheridan began to waver, but obstinately stood by her decision.  She wouldn't let herself be treated that way, no matter what.  "I'm sorry, Luis, but I just can't be with you.  I'll always care about you, though."  She whispered the last sentence.

            Again, Luis was heartbroken.  His dream of reuniting with Sheridan had turned into a nightmare.  He didn't know what to do next.  He wanted to attack Antonio, but he had to admit that he hadn't forced her to do anything, and though he hated him for taking her away, he also loved him for rescuing her and bringing her back in the first place.  Luis' brooding was cut short when Antonio suddenly fainted and fell over, breaking Sheridan's coffee table.  

"Brian!" Sheridan shrieked and ran over to his side.  "He's unconscious!  Please, call 911!"  Although Luis was furious at Antonio, he did not wish to watch his brother die right in front of him, so he complied.  The two then waited anxiously for the ambulance to come and take Antonio to Harmony Hospital.


	8. The Prosaically Named Chapter 8

Ivy, meanwhile, was extremely close to losing it.  On top of everything else, one of her children wasn't even hers!  There were simply too many things to think about at once.  She downed a few more pills to slow down her racing mind.  She had indeed lost a daughter, before she had even got to really know her.  Disgustedly, she listened to that dolt she was once married to mutter endlessly about how unhappy "Father" would be to hear this.  He was beyond pitiful—so worried about his own hide at all times that the personal ramifications hadn't even sunk in.  How would she get to know her real daughter, Kay, while still trying to become a real mother to Laura?  Poor girl, she knew that Alistair would cut her off the second he heard the news.  Hell, the girl would be lucky if he paid her hospital bills.  He certainly wouldn't want a non-Crane to be involved in the family, especially a non-Crane who also happened to be a Bennett.  

That was one consolation, at least.  She had raised Sam's child, and he had raised hers.  In a twisted kind of way, it was actually rather romantic, another sign that the two of them had intertwining fates.  Maybe it would even help her to get closer to Sam, and to finally get him back after all of these years.  Ivy of course realized that it was wrong to think that way at such a time, but she had crossed the line ethically long ago, and when one had a life like hers it was important to look at the bright side at all times.

She was sincerely interested in getting to know Kay, though.  Previously, she hadn't noticed her at all except as one of Sam and Grace's children, but when Eve broke the news, Ivy studied the girl intensely in the brief moments before she and the Bennetts left the lounge.  In that instant, she saw something in the girl that intrigued her, something she could relate to.  It was possible that the former Mrs. Crane was imagining things, but in the second that her eyes had met Kay's, Ivy could have sworn that she was looking at a darker-haired, younger version of herself.

*****

Tabitha breathed a sigh of relief as Timmy began to wake up once more.  After Tabitha's spell had saved Timmy, he had regained consciousness, but soon needed to sleep again, having been exhausted by his near death experience.  Throughout his rest, she stayed by his side, holding his little hand, moving only to see the circus going on outside the cubicle.  Kay a Crane!  That was one secret even she hadn't known, though it wasn't really surprising upon reflection.  Oh, the chaos that this upset will cause in this town!

Although the spell should have cured Timmy, the witch couldn't help but worry as he had laid there unconscious.  She smiled as the boy opened his eyes and smiled at his princess.  "Hello Tabby.  Is Timmy's sweet Charity going to be all right?"

Again with that meddlesome little do-gooder!  She had nearly gotten him killed, and she was still all he could think about!  "Yes Timmy, the brat will live.  But the important thing is, you're going to get better!"

Timmy's nose scrunched up in confusion.  "Timmy swears he remembers Dr. Russell telling Timmy that both he and Charity were dying."

Tabitha winced as she confessed what she had done.  "You _were dying Timmy, but your life was linked to Charity's because of that ridiculous demon's horn you used.  I had to go and cast a healing spell on Charity so that you would live."_

"Tabby saved Charity?!" Timmy's eyes opened wide in amazement and gratitude.

Tabitha smiled a bit.  "Well, I couldn't let you die, now could I?  Though I must say, lad, our friends in the basement will NOT be overly pleased with me.   Your youthful infatuation with that simpering simpleton has caused us no end of trouble."

Tabitha tried to scold in a convincingly irritated tone, but Timmy saw through it all and was deeply touched that Tabitha loved him enough to actually save her hated enemy.  He sat up and hugged her, but as his eyes scanned the room, he noticed that something, or rather, someone, was missing.  "Where did Toto go, princess?"

"Oh, that!  Your dog was actually the Little Angel Girl in disguise!  She's the one who told me that I could save you."

            Timmy grinned excitedly.  "Tabby worked for the powers of good?  That means she can renounce evil and help make people happy!"

            "Not so fast, Tim Tim!  That was a one-time deal, a freelance job.  I'm still a pawn of evil, and that will never change, and nothing you or even I can do will ever change that."

            Disappointment was evident in Timmy's face.  "But Tabby can always change!  God will forgive anyone of anything if they're really sorry!"

            "Now don't give me that diatribe.  I'm evil, end of discussion.  Anyway, let's not fight right now.  I'm too happy to have you back.  Oh, and you'll never guess what just happened while you were sleeping!"

            Timmy had known Tabitha long enough to get nervous whenever she had THAT tone of voice.  "What now?" he asked with a generous amount of dread.  

            "It's just turned out that our Kay isn't a Bennett at all!  She's a Crane!"

            "What?  How can that be?"

            She explained the entire situation to him, relishing every sordid detail.  When she had finished, Timmy felt so bad for Sam and Grace, and even Ivy and Julian.  One detail began to bother him, though.  "Princess, Kay _has to be Grace's daughter.  You've always said that all of the Standish women possess magical powers, and Kay has proven with her spell casting that she has powers of her own!"_

            "Very sharp Timmy, but it's quite plausible that Kay could be a Crane.  You remember Katherine Crane?"

            "She was Julian and Sheridan's mother, wasn't she?"

            "Yes, and a very nice woman, too.  I've told you many times that it's been my life's work to wipe out the entire sickening Standish line.  Unfortunately, a family grows and branches out over the generations.  I lost track of one of the less powerful girls, and she married into a wealthy society family.  That particular Standish strain produced many perfectly ordinary, non-magical members.  That is until Katherine was born.  She had powers, though they were very weak.  Apparently, the special Standish blood resurfaced wholly, mixed with a healthy dose of Crane evil, in Katherine's granddaughter, the former Kathleen Bennett.  No doubt that's what Cassandra had hoped for."

            Timmy was now more confused than ever.  "Who's Cassandra?"

            "I've never told you about that old enemy?  Well, she won't be playing a part in any of this, thankfully.  No, she was killed several years ago in Europe.  If you must know, she is the Crane matriarch, the first Mrs. Crane in the New World, mother of my old "friend" William Ephraim Crane."

            "But, how did she only die a few years ago, if she was that old?"

            "As a young Crane wife and mother-to-be, Cassandra had been attacked and mortally wounded one night by strangers thought to be Indians passing through the settlement.  As she was nearly ready to give birth, the town doctor had been able to deliver the boy via a caesarean.  That's the official story.  In reality, the strangers were not Indians at all but a few vampires starved for blood after their long sea voyage.  They killed Indians and townspeople alike, but for some reason turned only Cassandra.  She secretly stayed in the Crane home, determined to see her family rise above all others.  Secret underground rooms were built for her, whose influence can now be seen in the vast network of passageways leading to, among other things, Hecuba's Lair.  Over time, the knowledge of her existence had been kept from most Cranes.  Nowadays, Alistair is the only presently living family member who even knew about her."

            "So, was her son a vampire too?"

            Tabitha laughed a little.  "Old William Ephraim?  No, but the transformation of a woman into a vampire while her child is still in her womb has many effects on the offspring.  They possess heightened senses, increased speed, a dislike though not complete intolerance of sunlight, and a strong sense of the otherworld around them.  They, unlike actual vampires, are still essentially human and are able to reproduce, and these qualities resurface in their children, though they fade completely within a few generations.  Much longer lasting is the stamp of evil evident in each descendent: a shrewd, calculating mind, a complete lack of scruples, and an actual eagerness to feed, figuratively speaking, off of the misfortunes of others.  These tendencies can be overcome with goodness and love, of course, as Sheridan and various other individuals over the generations have been proof of, but the Cranes as a whole are a literally evil family.  It's rather amusing, really, the townsfolk here have always called the Cranes bloodsuckers, never knowing how very nearly right they were."

            "But why would this Cassandra actually WANT a Standish in the family?"

            "Throughout the centuries, Cassandra has been on the lookout for a True Heir, a descendent worthy to take under her wing and instruct, eventually helping to complete the Crane ascendancy: complete world domination and establishment of a dynasty unlike any seen before on Earth.  Most likely, she had hoped that the marriage between a Crane and a Standish would result in her long-awaited heir, with the supernatural powers of a Standish but a Crane mind and soul.  Turns out, it worked, but she'll never know it.  No, she died thinking that only Sheridan showed any signs of power."

            This was just too much for Timmy.  "_Sheridan inherited Standish magic, too?!"_

            "Of course she did!  Why else do you think she's still alive now?  For evil's sake, she's been buried alive so long all of her oxygen ran out, injured in a deadly car accident, repeatedly poisoned by a tampered wedding ring, blown up, caught in the water in the middle of the sea during a hurricane, drowned several times, and too much more to list!  She's not nearly powerful, or evil, enough to qualify for Cassandra, though.  Kay probably would've been her girl, but we'll never see that now.  Still, it'll be fun to see just what does transpire for Kay Crane."

            "Timmy has just one more question.  Why are Cassandra and Timmy's princess enemies?"

            "That, my dear boy, is not something I want to trudge up at present, especially since I'll never have to worry about her again.  I'm just glad that you're back, and that the anguish still to come will be so entertaining to watch!"


	9. The Prosaically Named Chapter 9

(A/N: This is not my favorite chapter, and is quite perfunctory at times.  However, it gets the job done and moves the story along, and I really wanted to get a lot of the tedious canon out of the way so that I could really get going.  I admit this is rather awkward at parts, but I really wanted to move my fanfic forward.  Hopefully, I'll eventually come back and revise it a bit, but this is it for now.  Thank you to my reviewers for the encouragement to keep going; it really gave me a lot of momentum.)

"I'm so sorry about this.  I have no idea what I'd do in this situation, but at least you'll know, one way or the other, some time tomorrow," Dr. Eve told a distraught Sam and Grace after she had finished taking blood tests for the three.  Kay, more annoyed by the Bennetts' too late concern for her than anything else, was eager to leave Dr. Russell's office and see what was going on, though she didn't know how to act around Julian and Ivy.

            Before she could think any further, a nurse rushed in, looking for Eve.  "You'll never believe this, Doctor, but we have another patient for you, Antonio Lopez-Fitzgerald!"

            "Pilar's missing son?  He's back in Harmony!  Well, what a wonderful night for her family, unless his condition is serious.  What's wrong with him?"

            As Eve rushed towards the door, followed by Sam, Grace, and Kay, the nurse answered hurriedly.  "Apparently, he just collapsed, but that's not even the amazing part.  You see, the woman who came with him is—"

            Dr. Eve suddenly gasped at the scene in the lounge.

            ". . . Sheridan Crane," the nurse finished with a sigh of defeat.

            Eve's shock was not unique.  Everyone in the room stood gaping at the sight of Sheridan, standing before them, accompanied by an extremely upset-looking Luis.  Eventually, everyone was able to react, and greeted Sheridan, who explained everything that happened.  The last person to approach her was Julian, smiling smarmily and saying, "My dear sister!  I simply can't express how _delighted I am to have you back.  I can't tell you what I went through, thinking you were dead."_

            Sheridan glared at her elder brother disgustedly, and Luis, already wanting to hit something because of Antonio, became twice as furious upon seeing the man he believed tried to have Sheridan killed.  He rammed Julian against the wall, and, like TC, had to be forcibly restrained.  "Bastard!" Luis shouted at the top of his lungs.  "Pretending you care about Sheridan!  I know you were behind the boat explosion!"

            Although Julian began perspiring profusely, he maintained a calm tone of voice, and insisted he had no idea what Luis was yelling about.  Luis was about to attack Julian again, when Chad, Simone, and Whitney came in, and ran right up to Theresa.  She and Whitney alternately cried and hugged, and Chad smiled at Theresa.  "Wow, Theresa, you really did it, you actually got yourself out of this jam."

            "It's a miracle," Ethan agreed, practically beaming, holding Ethan-Martin, while Theresa and Whitney reunited.  He was totally absorbed with the baby, fascinated by the child's every movement.  Gwen, meanwhile, was obviously having a great deal of trouble retaining her composure.

            Chad frowned.  The situation with Ethan and Theresa was getting ridiculous.  There was no alternative:  he had to talk with his friend and pound some sense into him.  "Uh, man, can we talk for a minute?"

            "Oh sure," Ethan replied happily and followed Chad a little ways, still holding the baby.  When they were out of the immediate range of the group, Chad smacked him upside the head.

            "Ow!  Say, what was that for?"

            "What's wrong with you?  It's obvious that you're still in love with Theresa, and she's certainly proven that she REALLY loves you, but you keep lying to yourself."

            "You really should listen to Chad, Ethan," Hank, who was standing nearby, joined in.

            "Hey, Theresa lied to me, and relationships should be built on trust, and anyway, I'm with Gwen now."

            "And she deserves someone who really loves her, and wouldn't rather be with someone else but is too stubborn to admit his feelings," Hank argued.

            "Yeah, and unless you can honestly tell us that you don't love Theresa anymore, you shouldn't be with anyone else," Chad added.

            Ethan thought about what his friend and his uncle were saying.  He did care about Gwen, and had feelings for her, but if he was totally truthful to himself, he had to admit that Theresa would always be his true love.  "Maybe you're right, guys, but it's still over between Theresa and me.  She knew how important honesty was to me, but she just kept lying!"

            "And she also died for you!" Chad argued.  "At least from her point of view, anyway.  Plus, she's a lot younger than you.  C'mon, she's only nineteen now, and she did some stupid things out of love, but it was all for you."

            Ethan couldn't deny that everything his friend was saying was true.  He truly believed that Theresa loved him, and it was rather stupid for both of them to live their lives without each other because of his stubbornness.  "You're right; I will give her another chance, but I have to tell both of them right now!  I can't keep stringing Gwen along."

            Taking a gulp, Ethan walked back to the Theresa, Gwen, and Whitney.  "Theresa, Gwen, I have something to tell the both of you..."

*****     

            At the other end of the lounge, Sam and Grace continued to fret over Kay, while Jessica fawned over her, crying at the thought of losing Kay as a sister.

            Kay had had enough.  "Cut it out, Jessica!  You should be glad, all any of you have ever done is make it clear that I'm not as good as everyone else in the family.  Good news, the Bennett bunch is still untarnished by someone like me.  Now, why don't you just go and see how wonderful, perfect Charity is doing?"

            Kay's harsh words stung her "family."  Grace immediately started crying again. "Kay, how can you say that?  You know we all love you, and always will, no matter what."

            "Whatever you say, Grace," Kay replied disdainfully, emphasizing her name.  "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to say hello to my Aunt Sheridan and my parents."  With that, she walked purposefully away, so intent upon upsetting her former family that she didn't even feel nervous addressing the Cranes.  She approached Sheridan and extended her hand.  "It's good to have you back."

            Sheridan smiled a bit awkwardly, shaking the girl's hand.  "Uh, thank you.  You're Chief Bennett's daughter Kay, right?"

            Kay smiled sardonically.  "Then no one's told you yet?  I'm Kay, alright, but I'm not Chief Bennett's daughter.  I'm your niece."

            Sheridan was somewhat taken aback, not knowing what to say.  "I'm really sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about."

            Julian, trying to save face and do what he figured his father expected of him.  "It's true, Sheridan.  Laura's been in an accident, and had to get her blood tested.  Apparently, the results showed that she isn't my daughter at all, and Dr. Russell believes that she was switched at birth with Kay."

            Sheridan gasped at the news.  "Oh my God, first Ethan and now Laura?  How awful!"

            "Yes, it is," Julian agreed.  "But the fact remains that young Kay here is most likely now part of our family, and entitled to everything that comes with being a Crane."  He turned to Kay to address her.  "I realize this must be very hard on you, but if you are our daughter, Ivy and I will want a chance to become acquainted with you.  Depending upon the test results, perhaps you will want to move into our mansion tomorrow?"

            Sam, who had come over to reason with Kay, had heard everything that Julian said.  "She most certainly will not, Julian!  I don't care what the results say, she's our daughter, and she's staying with us!  WE don't throw out family that easily."

            He put his arms around Kay, but she shrugged him off.  "I believe that's my decision to make.  I'm eighteen now, though I'm sure none of you noticed, what with Charity's birthday and all."  Looking at Julian, she added, "And yes, father, if the DNA test proves I'm your daughter, I'd be happy to move in!"

*****

            Theresa couldn't believe it.  Earlier this same day, she had been on death row, and now Ethan was telling her he wanted to marry her and help raise Ethan-Martin!  She hadn't actually expected him to come around so soon, but he had, and they would now be together, a family, forever!  It was fate, and nothing could stop it now: Theresa would discuss a quick divorce with Julian tomorrow, and everything would work out exactly the way it was supposed to.

*****

            More than anything, Gwen felt drained.  So, this was where all of her hopes, all of her planning, all of the violations of her moral code that her mother had convinced her to make had gotten her.  She listened halfheartedly as Rebecca frantically hatched scheme after scheme that would certainly get Ethan to leave Theresa, but knew that nothing would do any good.  In a way she was actually glad of this.  At least all of her anxiety was finally over.  If he really loves that little psychopath so much that he'll forgive her for just about anything, then let him have her.  Gwen Hotchkiss would no longer play the fool watching silently while he stared adoringly at that baby, the consolation prize that he didn't really want, but accepted in the absence of his first choice.  What she would do from here, Gwen didn't really know, but she was certain of one thing: she would never lower herself to trying to get Ethan back again.

*****     

            Chad and Whitney stood watching a joyous Ethan and Theresa hugging and kissing each other.  "I can't believe I'm actually seeing this," Whitney stated, beaming with joy for her best friend.  "I was so certain those two would never get back together, and yet here they are, no more secrets, no more lies."

            "Uh, yeah, speaking of that, when are you gonna tell Simone the truth about us?"

            Whitney groaned.  She knew that she should have told her sister long ago, but she didn't want to hurt her.  Plus, she was somewhat afraid of Simone, who had inherited their father's temper.  "Soon, Chad, I promise."

            "Well, you better, cuz I wanna tell the whole world that I love you, and only you."

            "Chad!"

            The couple turned around frantically, to find Simone standing right behind them.  They looked at one another, panic clearly rising in their eyes.  How much had Simone overheard?

            "That is soooo sweet of you!  You didn't know just how to tell me that you loved me, so you asked Whitney how to say it!  But you didn't have to do that; I love you, too, and I'd love any way you said it."  With that, Simone grabbed Chad, hugging him so hard he could barely breathe.

            Chad had been very patient for a very long time now.  He had remained quiet and pretended, just as Whitney had asked him to, and waited around whenever Whitney decided to break up with him to spare Simone.  There was no reason that this time should be any different, but something within him finally snapped.  He simply couldn't take it any more.  "I don't love you, Simone, I've never loved you, and I never will!"

            Ignoring the look of shock on Simone's face, Chad continued ranting.  "In fact, I don't even like you as a friend; you've gotta be the most obnoxious girl I've ever met.  I love Whitney, Simone, WHITNEY, and the only reason I didn't say so from the beginning is that your sister didn't want to hurt you!"

            For a second, Simone simply stood there, too devastated to react.  She didn't even comprehend half of what her imaginary boyfriend was saying, but she did hear her sister's name.  In her frenzied state, the only thought present in her mind was that Whitney took Chad, she had trusted her sister and she had stolen him.  With that on her mind, Simone jumped on Whitney, determined to throttle her.

            "BITCH!  You stole Chad, and turned him against me!"  If Chad had not been standing right there, Simone probably would have succeeded, but as it was he was just barely able to pull her off of his girlfriend.

            "See, another reason I don't like you.  You're completely insane!"  Chad immediately regretted his words, though, when he looked at Whitney.  She was too upset to even speak, and he felt remorseful that everything came out this way.  Still, it was out, and no matter what happened it was better this way.

            Simone was quite ready to pounce again, when Kay dragged her away for a little chat.  Smiling happily, Kay began speaking.  "Oh, that's so sad!  All this time, you've been completely oblivious to was happening between Chad and your sister right under your own roof.  There must've been sooo many times that you even walked in on something, but were too dense to figure it out.  I'd probably do something drastic in your situation, but then again, I'm evil, and I'm sure you're really concerned about doing the right thing now."

            Simone could barely speak, but she finally managed to spit out, "Shut up, Kay!"

            Ignoring her, Kay kept on speaking.  "You know what, I think you should just try and be happy for them.  After all, they make SUCH a cute couple and it's really obvious how much Chad truly loves your sister."  With that, Kay smiled again, sweetly, and skipped off, leaving Simone to fume and sob.

*****

            Exhausted by what had turned out to be one of the strangest and most eventful nights of their lives, the residents of Harmony slowly wandered off, some going to bed, and some remaining with loved ones.  Tomorrow they would have to process and work through everything that had happened, but at this moment they were completely saturated, unable to even compute what was happening anymore.  The only thing each and every one of them knew was that their lives would never be the same again.

(A/N: Finally, I'm finished with The Night That Doesn't End!  Whew, that's a relief!  The pace from now on will hopefully be a good deal quicker, as I move away from the Official Passions Storyline into my own turf.)


	10. The Prosaically Named Chapter 10

            The next morning, Alistair sat in the den, reeling at last night's events.  Everything he had laid out so carefully had been destroyed, all with the return of the one Crane over whom he had no control.  He briefly toyed with the idea of having her killed, but quickly scrapped that approach as too risky.  She was much too powerful to safely do away with, and besides, she seemed to know everything that was going on.  No, the only hope he had of regaining some semblance of power was to do what she says and hope that she'll become satisfied and leave.  

            As if he didn't already have enough on his mind, he'd also just gotten the news that his granddaughter Laura wasn't really his granddaughter at all!  He'd never been particularly fond of the girl, but it made his blood boil to think that not one, but two Bennetts had been raised on Crane money!  That would of course stop right now, though he'd pay her hospital bills in order to avoid even more bad publicity.  What really bothered him, though, was the fact that his real granddaughter had been raised by that disgustingly middle class family.  Who knows how much she had absorbed from them, and whether or not the damage could be undone?  God knows he didn't need another do-gooder like Sheridan to contend with, and Julian oafishly had to suggest she move in as soon as her parentage was confirmed, before he even had a chance to assess her!

            Normally, Alistair would have bawled Julian out for such an action, but he now had to clear every move he made with that impossible vampiress.  At least they agreed upon one issue: that the new infant Crane's education must be given the utmost attention, and that it would be permissible for Theresa to remain in the picture as his son's trophy wife.

            As Alistair was contemplating his next move, Julian entered the study. "Uh, Father, I think we need to discuss what to do about Theresa..."

*****     

            A knock on her door yanked Theresa out of the dream world she was enjoying.  It was such a good dream too; Ethan had taken her back and proposed again.  It seemed so real, as if—

            "Theresa?  Are you up?"

            Ethan!  She remembered everything now.  It had really happened!  Beaming, Theresa practically jumped out of bed, and ran to open the door.  Facing her was Ethan, holding a dozen long-stemmed roses.

            "Oh, Ethan!  Thank you so much.  They're beautiful!"  Placing the flowers carefully on the table, she embraced him joyously.

            "How are my two favorite people this morning?"

            "Absolutely wonderful!  I couldn't be better, and Little Ethan is sleeping soundly." 

            Ethan walked over to the cradle in her room, gazing fondly at the sleeping baby.  "He's such a sweet little fellow."

            "An angel," Theresa agreed.  "I've always dreamt of this moment, though I thought you'd be my baby's father."  A frown darkened her features.

            Ethan caressed his beloved tenderly.  "I will be, I promise.  I'll be a father to him, and nothing will ever tear the three of us apart."

            Theresa looked up at him, slightly alarmed.  "I hope so, Ethan.  All of a sudden, I got this really bad feeling.  Whenever it seems that things are finally going right, something horrible always happens to us."  
            Ethan held her tightly, reassuring her.  "But that was always because of a secret.  We haven't got any between us now.  We don't, do we?"

            Theresa laughed.  "No, that's one thing I can honestly promise now, I'm not keeping anything from you anymore."

            "Well, then, everything's going to be all right.  All that's left now is for you to get a divorce from Julian."

            "That's right!  I'd better go talk to him right now!  I want to be able to marry you as soon possible."

            "Do you want me to come with and help in the negotiation?" Ethan asked, concerned.

            "No, I can do this myself.  Besides, I don't want anything from him anymore.  I've learned my lesson, and all I want is my baby and a life with you."  

            After a quick kiss, Theresa ran off to get dressed and find Julian.

*****

            Alistair and Julian's conversation was cut short when an urgent Theresa stormed in.  "Julian, we need to talk.  Now that you're alive and everything, I need a div—"

            Suddenly, she noticed that he was not alone in the room.  "Uh, Alistair, I didn't realize you were here."

            "Oh, don't mind me.  Go ahead with whatever you were saying."

            Though Theresa was feeling very uncomfortable about the whole situation, she braced herself and continued.  "Well, Julian, I want a divorce immediately!"

            Remembering his father's word only minutes ago, Julian immediately objected.  "Absolutely out of the question!"

            But Alistair had another approach in mind.  "Nonsense, Julian, Theresa is free to get a divorce if she so desires."

            But, Father!  You said—"

            Alistair shut his son up with a look that clearly showed he knew exactly what he was doing.  "That's enough!"  He then turned to Theresa, saying, "I'm sure we can come to an arrangement suitable for everyone concerned."

            Theresa couldn't believe it.  This was going better than she ever could have imagined!  Still, she was determined to be careful, and not sabotage everything through greed.  "I don't want anything, except to not be married to Julian."

            "Well, then, this won't be difficult at all!  The papers can be arranged in no time whatsoever, and we can get this unpleasant matter resolved.  Oh, there's just one little matter left to discuss."

            "Yes?"

            Alistair now smiled coldly.  "Your son will, of course remain at the mansion, to be brought up in the proper manner for a young man of his station.  If you'd like, you may visit him one weekend a month and on holidays."

Alistair's words struck Theresa like a blow to the chest.  "You can't mean you're taking custody of him?" she gasped.

            "Of course I am.  He is, after all, my legitimate grandson, and will grow up as such."

            "I'll fight you, Alistair, I swear to God I will," Theresa shook as she spoke.

            Alistair laughed derisively.  "And you'll lose.  If I can arrange a whole phony execution, I can certainly beat you in court for custody of Ethan-Martin."

            "Please, Alistair, I'll do anything!  You can't take away my baby, you just can't!"

            "I'm sorry, Theresa, the Cranes will have custody.  The only way you can be with him is to remain at the mansion as Mrs. Crane."

            Theresa's gaze met Alistair's, her expression conveying a certain purity of hatred.  "Damn you, Alistair, God damn you," she said in a low but even tone.  The only thing she could think about was how completely she despised this man who could and would so thoughtlessly take away anyone and everyone she cared about.

            Before the billionaire could reply, the phone rang.  Alistair took it, listening intently.  "Hello...Really?...Will be there...Yes, most anxious..."

            "That was the hospital.  The results of the blood test will be in soon.  Julian, you should go.  Ivy never left the hospital."  Nodding brusquely, Julian left the room.  "As for me, I have some business to attend to, so Theresa, you might want to get some air, think everything over.  There's no rush after all."  With that, he directed the girl out of his study and allowed himself the quiet satisfaction of a job well done.

*****

            Laura Crane opened her eyes, and immediately wished that she hadn't.  The bright light in the white room hurt her eyes, and she realized that her body ached badly all over.  When it sank in that she was in a hospital room, she became slightly panicked.  Why was she here?  What had happened to her?  Finally, she remembered being near Harmony, when that stupid kid on his bike darted out right in front of her, and she'd swerved, crashing head-on into a tree trunk.  Thank God she'd been in that Mercedes; it had surely saved her life.

            Glancing around the room, she noticed something else: her mother, looking as if she had been up all night, sitting by the bed in her wheelchair, dozing off a bit.  From what Laura could tell, it seemed to be late morning, and it surprised her that her mother had sat up with her for so long.  Instinctively, her heart softened a bit towards her, momentarily forgiving her mother, before remembering that one gesture of concern doesn't make up for years of near neglect.

            Laura and her sisters had long ago learned to do without the full attention of their parents, accepting bitterly that Ethan would always come first.  They had understood that the simple fact that he was male made him more important to Julian and Alistair, but they always wondered why he took such priority with Ivy.  Finally, when the tabloid came out saying Ethan wasn't a Crane it all made sense: Ethan had been conceived with their mother's true love, while they were fathered by a man she loathed intensely.  The knowledge hurt a great deal, and the sisters had been too angry to come home since.  The only reason Laura had even come home was that her sisters had decided that she should return and help claim whatever assets she could for the three from the estate that had been so unstable since their father's murder.  Since she had just graduated from her boarding high school, they figured that she would be freest to do so, plus she was considered to be the least likely to cheat the other two out of their share of the money.

            Slowly, Ivy began to stir, and realized that Laura was staring back at her.  "Honey!  You're awake!  Are you feeling okay?"  Ivy made a fuss over her, and in an uneasy manner that perplexed the girl.  It felt strange to be her mother's center of attention, and she had never seen her act nervous at all, but now she carried on like she had no idea what to do.

            "Mother, I remember smashing the car, but then it all went black.  How badly was I injured, and why are you here?"

            "It was touch and go for a while, but Dr. Russell says you'll be fine soon, maybe even able to check out in as little as a week.  As for your other question, I'm here because I care about you, and I was worried."

            Laura stifled the urge to point out that Ivy had never before shown much concern for her, and instead asked another question that was on her mind.  "What happened with the execution?  Was the housekeeper's daughter executed for Father's murder?"

            Ivy laughed ruefully.  "That's a long story I don't want to really go into right now.  Let's just say that, yes, she was executed, but no, she's not dead.  Nor, for that matter, is Julian.  Turns out, he was in hiding the entire time and only resurfaced last night."

            Laura stared at her mother incredulously.  "Geesh, what else did I miss while I was out?"

            This was the part Ivy had been dreading.  She had spent hours trying to devise a good way to break the news, but had come up empty.  Taking a deep breath, she decided to just say it.  "I know this will be very shocking and extremely hard for you, but I want you to know that I still love you.  The truth is, it's just come out that, I don't know how to say this, that you're not a Crane!"

            "Oh no, Mother!  Don't tell me you had another affair with that Chief Bennett, and I'm the result!" Laura replied, wondering why, if this was the case, Ivy had not paid more attention to her, like she had to Ethan.

            "No I didn't!  Why does everybody keep jumping to that conclusion?" Ivy protested in indignation.  "It does have to do with Sam though.  You see, you were given a blood test while you were unconscious, and it revealed that it's genetically impossible for Julian and I to be your parents.  Ironically, the doctor believes that you were switched at birth, and that you're actually the daughter of Sam Bennett and his wife."

            Laura was initially rendered incapable of any speech.  It was as if her entire existence had been taken away and rendered meaningless.  Her identity was gone, and she was nobody and nothing at all.  Before, she'd at least had a place in the world.  True, it was a place that she often wasn't happy with, but for better or for worse, she had known who she was.  But now, she wasn't really the girl she had portrayed for the past eighteen years; it was all an illusion, a role she had usurped from somebody else.  Worse, she didn't even know what kind of person she was meant to be, or what kind of family she should have had.  "I'm nothing," she whispered absently.

            "No, you're not, Laura, and I love you."

            "Love me?  You don't even know me!  Not really, anyway.  You never took the time, not with me or my other sis-, well, not my sisters, but your daughters!"

            Ivy broke down at this point.  "And I'm sorry!  I can't tell you how sorry I am for everything.  I was wrong to ignore you, and I just want a chance to make things right with us."

            Seeing Ivy let down her guard made Laura relent a little, but it didn't change anything.  Laura realized what was going on: the car crash had caused Ivy to feel guilty about her past actions, and the blood test had only heightened her remorse, compelling her to try to forge a relationship.  Although Laura could understand the motivations, and even pity her former mother a bit, she knew that certain things could never be fixed.  "I'm sorry, but after all this time it's just too late.  I don't even completely blame you for anything.  I can't know what it was like for you all these years, and I can't be sure I would have acted any differently.  It's just a lot of bad circumstances, but it's too much.  We've never been close before, and now we never can be.  Maybe you can make up for everything with your real daughter.  Now, please, I'm really tired and I'd like to be left alone."

*****

            On her way out of Laura's room, Ivy bumped into Julian marching purposefully towards Dr. Eve's office.  "She hates me," Ivy muttered emptily.

            "Who exactly are you talking about, my sweet?  There are simply too many possibilities for me to guess."

            Ivy was in no mood for banter.  "Laura.  She woke up, I told her everything, and she wants nothing to do with me."

            "And you're what, surprised at this?  You've ignored the girl her entire life in favor of your precious Ethan, then you tell her she's not even your daughter.  What did you expect, that the two of you would bond, do each other's nails, and talk about boys?"

            "Not funny," Ivy replied testily.  "And if she hates me, she must absolutely loathe you.  In fact, she didn't even seem to care very much when I mentioned that you were alive.  Why are you here?  I'm sure you didn't drag yourself out of bed at this early hour of a quarter 'till noon just to see her."

            "As a matter of fact, the Bennett blood test results should be in now.  You're welcome to come with me, if you'd like to know if that Kay girl is yet another daughter for you to overlook."

            Too exhausted, physically and mentally, to reply, Ivy followed Julian into the office.  Already present were the Bennetts and Kay, and Dr. Russell, who cleared her throat and began speaking.  "Now that you're all here, I can give you the results.  I wish it wasn't so, but, Kay, Ivy and Julian are indeed your parents."

            In the midst of everything, Ivy noticed that, although Sam and Grace were beside themselves, Kay did not seem terribly upset at the news.  In fact, the closest description of her expression was...relief.  Perhaps she really did have a chance with this daughter!  She knew that Laura had spoken truthfully, and she had lost her for good.  As for the other two, they would almost certainly be even less receptive towards any gestures of reconciliation than Laura had been.  Ivy had to face the facts: she had screwed up royally, and now had to deal with the consequences.  Her only hope for any sort of redemption was now with Kay.  It was as if she had a second chance to do right by one of her daughters, at least, and she was not going to waste it!


	11. The Prosaically Named Chapter 11

            In reality, it took Theresa less than a minute to climb the stairway, but it seemed to her that the walk was a crucial turning point, ending forever the life she had always dreamt she would have.  It was strange, walking to her execution for the second time in two days.  Certainly the Fate that she had always trusted in must be having some fun with her, even topping it off with the irony of "ascending" into the hell in which she would spend the rest of her existence.

            She finally reached her room and turned the doorknob, only to be greeted by an enthusiastic Ethan.  Suddenly, and for the first time in their entire relationship, she felt much older than him.  He was such a boy, really; still able to believe that things could actually work themselves out, and too naïve to realize that nothing would ever be okay again.

            Idealistic or not, Ethan could still pick up on Theresa's feelings, and his smile soon turned into a worried frown.  "What's wrong, Theresa?  Did Julian give you a tough time agreeing to the divorce?"

            Theresa laughed a cold, hard laugh that Ethan had never heard from her before and which chilled him to the bone.  "No, actually I mostly talked with Alistair, and he was very accommodating, wants to get the papers signed right away."

            "Well, then, what's the problem?"                                        

            "It's a matter of the terms of the divorce.  Who gets what."  Seeing a slight look of disappointment begin to emerge on Ethan's face, Theresa quickly amended, "Don't worry, I didn't ask for any money or property or anything like that.  It's just that he wants one little thing of mine: Ethan-Martin."

            Ethan tried to hide his dread, and moved in to comfort Theresa.  "Don't worry about anything; I won't let them do this to us.  We'll take them to court, and get custody.  It'll be alright."

            Again with the naïveté!  She herself would certainly never have that luxury again.  "Didn't you learn anything from being the Crane heir, or even the whole Death Row fiasco?!  If a Crane wants something, manipulating the courts poses no problem.  Hell, he might not even have to go that far.  Lord knows I've done plenty of crazy things that they could use to bring my fitness as a parent into serious doubt."

            Ethan wouldn't budge.  "I just don't accept that.  There has to be some way that you can keep your baby."

            Now came the horrible part, the defining moment.  She swallowed hard and began.  "There is.  No matter what, my baby WILL stay here.  I was given the option of remaining here as well as Julian's wife."

            Theresa watched as all of the color drained from Ethan's face.  _Please Ethan, understand, she thought to herself._

            Finally he spoke, his voice all choked up.  "What are you saying, Theresa?"

            This was the part she'd feared.  She'd have to be firm if she was going to go through with this.  "I'm saying that I'm sorry, Ethan, but I won't be able to marry you."

            The expressions now on Ethan's face defied description.  "No, I don't accept that.  There **must be a way for us!"**

            Theresa shook her head.  "Not any way that I could keep my baby, and I'm NOT leaving him alone to be raised with Crane values.  I could never do that, and I don't think you'd be able to love a person who could."

            "But, we love each other!"

            Theresa smiled, knowing that if she stopped, she'd unleash a flood of tears.  "Well, Ethan, I guess you were right before.  Love _isn't always enough to keep two people together."_

            The hurt in Ethan's eyes quickly turned to rage.  "It's all Julian's fault for getting you into this.  His, and Alistair's for trapping you here.  I could kill both of them right now!"

            Theresa grabbed Ethan and held him tightly.  "Promise me you won't even think that anymore!  That wouldn't solve anything: you'd be in prison and they certainly wouldn't give me custody in a case like that.  Face it, we lost.  I'm sorry for causing you all this pain."

            Affected by her reasoning, Ethan calmed down a little.  "Then, what will we do now?"

            "You'll go on with your life, maybe one day finding a nice girl who won't cause you so much grief.  I'll live here with the title of Mrs. Crane, doing whatever it takes to protect Little Ethan, shielding him as much as I can.  But whatever happens, whatever I might become by staying here, I just want you to know that I'll never stop loving you."

            "Oh, Theresa, there'll never be anyone else for me."  Ethan held her, the torment of being so close to her quickly becoming unbearable.  "I have to go now, or else I won't be able to."

            Theresa nodded, but grabbed him again.  "Please," she whispered, "just one last kiss."  Ethan complied, and Theresa was overwhelmed by the enormous amount of desire and longing surging down onto her lips.  After the initial shock, she met his passion fully, the knowledge that this would in all probability be their last kiss only heightening the bittersweet ecstasy of the moment.  An eternity seemed to pass in that kiss; Theresa felt as if the life that should have been in front of them had been condensed into this one moment, and she drank in thirstily.  Then, suddenly, it was over, and Theresa was alone.

            She had lost him, this time for good.  Before, she could always cling to the hope that Ethan would take her back, but now she couldn't allow herself the comfort of denial, because the breakup had been of her own volition.  The strangest part of it was that, as heartbroken as she was, she did not regret her choice for a second, or even, in a way, all of the circumstances leading up to it.  After all, if she had not lied to Ethan about his paternity, flown to Bermuda, gotten drunk, married Julian, and then slept with him, she would not have little Ethan-Martin, whom she now loved more than life itself, and even more than his namesake.

            Walking over to his cradle, Theresa checked on the baby, who was still sleeping soundly.  Gazing at his perfect features, Theresa shuddered to think of the abortion that she had almost had, or of the suicide attempt she had made while still pregnant.  Banishing those thoughts from her mind, Theresa vowed to survive the life ahead, if only because her son needed her.  He would become her everything and she would not fail him as she had everyone else that she cared about.  

            Unwillingly, Theresa's thoughts drifted to Ivy.  Had she made a similar vow all those years ago?  The Ivy that Theresa knew was cold and heartless, capable of just about anything, but she had many times heard her mother say that the former Crane wife had once been a spirited and caring person, until years of exposure to the Crane evil had slowly tainted her.  They were so similar in so many ways; would that one day happen to her as well?  Theresa imagined herself, some twenty years older, downing painkillers and champagne while zooming around in a wheelchair, planning the downfall of all who crossed her path.  What would Ethan think of her then?  Suddenly overcome with anguish and fear, Theresa threw herself onto her bed, and cried until there were no more tears left inside of her, until she was no longer even capable of crying.

*****

            "Do you know what's wrong, Eve?" Sheridan asked, her voice teeming with anxiety.  Some tests had been done on Antonio to ascertain the reason behind his sudden collapse.  She was worried that he had kept something from her after the racing accident, and was in a much more serious condition than she was aware of.

            Eve smiled, thankful that between having to break the news of Kay's parentage and dealing with the epic battle currently being waged between her daughters, something in her day had actually turned out positive.  "At first, I was afraid that he had some sort of brain tumor, but in reality it's a minor irregularity of the nervous system that can easily be taken care of.  I'll have to operate, and he'll need to stay in the hospital for a week or so, but he's going to be just fine!"

            Sheridan was, of course, extremely relieved.  She'd been so worried about her fiancée, and so thankful that he would be okay.  However, she was beginning to have second thoughts about her choice.  She'd made it rashly out of anger, without really thinking.  Luis had acted like a jerk, but later that night he'd apologized in a manner that she knew was sincere, and had even told her about Beth.  No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't quell her feelings for him, and couldn't get used to the idea of spending the rest of her life without him.  Still, she had made this choice, and at this moment there was no point in distressing Antonio or giving Luis potentially false hope when she was still not entirely sure.

*****

            After crossing the threshold, Kay looked all around her in awe, as if she had never been inside the Crane mansion before.  She couldn't believe that this, this palace, would now be her home.  She also couldn't believe that Ivy and Julian were now her parents.

            The ride home in the limousine had been strange and awkward for all parties, but Kay could already tell that she was going to agree with the rest of Harmony in despising Julian.  He was so slimy and smarmy, and such a buffoon, that she cringed to think that he was her real father.  Ivy, on the other hand, was _much more to her liking.  She was interesting and witty, and not at all sickeningly sweet or impossibly virtuous.  What's more, she seemed genuinely interested in Kay, whereas Julian was clearly just putting on a show._

            She had barely gotten all of her stuff into the entryway when a couple of maids dashed in, took her belongings, told her she'd be staying in room 4B, and that Mr. Alistair Crane desired an audience with her in the library.

            _Well, she thought, taking a deep breath, __there's no use in putting this off now.  She strode into the library with a false confidence and greeted the Crane patriarch, who smiled at her insincerely.  "Please, Kay, have a seat."_

            Consciously molding her features into a gracious smile, she replied, "Thank you, Mr. Crane."

            "Please, you're being too formal.  We are family, after all.  Feel free to call me 'Grandfather.'"

            Although Alistair was not a man one would likely think of as the grandfatherly type, Kay complied.  "Okay, Grandfather."

            "The two of us have a great deal of catching up to do," Alistair said, and Kay correctly took his words to mean that he would be giving her a drill session.  "This must be a big adjustment for you.  The loss of your family must be terribly upsetting."

            "I'm dealing," Kay answered simply.

            Alistair looked pleased, as if he were hoping for such an answer.  "That's good.  The correct education is vitally important in our family.  How did you fare in your studies in high school, and do you have any postgraduate plans?"

            "Well, I used to get top grades, but I sorta let them slip over the past couple years," Kay confessed.  "I'm enrolled at Castleton College, where my fa-, where Sam Bennett, went."

            "Hmmm, that simply won't do.  A Crane doesn't attend a local institution such at that.  However, if you were once ahead, perhaps with a year of private tutoring we can get you into a top institution."

            Inwardly, Kay thought that idea sounded awful, but she agreed to appease her grandfather.

            "Now, if you are to live as a Crane you will of necessity move in somewhat different circles.  Do you have any, er, _attachments from your former life?"_

            Kay was sharp enough to recognize that Alistair was prying into her love life, and she resented it.  However, she realized the importance of the staying on his good side, so she suppressed any urge to talk back.  "No, not really," she replied truthfully.  After all, Miguel was not hers, and nobody she knew _really cared about her._

            "Good.  That will make the adjustment easier.  Do you have any questions that you wish to ask me?"

            "Just one: did I pass the test?"

            Alistair's eyes met Kay's, and the two of them shared a look of perfect understanding.  He smiled a bit, and said, "This will do for now.  You may go explore the mansion, talk with your parents, or anything else that you'd like to do."

            Relieved that her interview was finally over, Kay said goodbye and left, eager to see what else was there for her.

*****

            As soon as Kay was out of hearing distance, Alistair turned around and asked, "Well, what do you think?"

            Cassandra emerged from the curtain she had been hiding behind, a cautious excitement illuminating her features.  "I have a good feeling about this one, I can sense it."

            "I have to say, I was somewhat impressed by the girl myself" Alistair admitted.  "She held her ground remarkably well, was straightforward, and understood the situation perfectly.  Plus, she doesn't seem to have much of a sentimental attachment to the Bennetts or a longing for her old life.  All in all, I'd say she's qualified for an entry into the family."

            "Oh, yes, definitely _that," Cassandra agreed absently.  "Of course she's __qualified to be a Crane, at the very least."_

            Alistair looked at her, not comprehending.  "What do you mean by 'at the very least'?"

            Not ready to speak further, Cassandra evaded the question.  "Nothing, nothing at all.  But be assured, I'll be watching this one."

*****

            After a long and protracted search, Kay eventually managed to find her room, which was easily four times the size of her old one, and more like a suite.  In fact, the room was so large that it took her a moment to spot Ivy sitting in a corner, waiting for her with a rather hopeful expression on her face.

            "Oh, hi," Kay greeted Ivy, not really knowing what to say.

            "Hi," Ivy replied nervously.  "Come sit down with me.  I just wanted to be here if you have any questions or need help finding anything.  I know this place must be intimidating for you; it was to me when I came to live here, and I was used to large homes."

            "Thank you," Kay said, smiling, and took a seat on an overstuffed leather chair.  Thank goodness _someone actually wanted to help her, and not just have her jump through a series of hoops.  "I'm sure I'll take you up on it, uh, Mother."  Calling Ivy by that name felt strange, but unexpectedly easy._

            Ivy was touched, but replied, "You don't have to call me by 'Mother' or 'Mom' or anything if you don't feel comfortable.  I hope we can somehow make up for all the lost time, but it's still so new and strange, and I know you must still be missing your old mother."

            Ivy was taken aback when Kay actually laughed!  "Hardly.  Don't worry, I was ecstatic to find out she's not my real mother."

            "But, isn't Grace famous for how absolutely great a parent she is?  Mother of the Year awards and all that?"

            "Well, I certainly wasn't on the prize committee.  All of my life, I came in third to my brother and sister, and I got used to it, but then my cousin Charity wanders in out of nowhere and she and Grace instantly have a closer relationship than I EVER had with her.  Finally, John shows up, and he's my half-brother, and she can't spend enough time with him.  Trust me, having Grace Bennett for a parent is NOT a good experience.  I'm fine calling you 'Mom,' if you don't mind."  Kay hadn't expected to open up to Ivy so much, but somehow just found the words flowing naturally.

            "No, I'd be happy if you did!"  So, Amazing Grace _wasn't as sainted as she was made out to be.  Ivy felt a little better knowing that this supposed "paragon of virtue" was just as bad as her, "Poison Ivy," when it came to raising daughters.  Ivy still couldn't believe that Kay actually __wanted anything to do with her.  At this point in her life, even Ethan was beginning to turn from her._

            The two of them sat facing each other awkwardly for a minute, when Kay decided to break the silence.  Curiosity getting the better of her discretion, she asked, "So, did you really do all those crazy things to get my old dad back?"

            Oh, great.  Just when Ivy thought she was getting somewhere, she has to answer a question like this. "Well, technically, yes I did, but…" Ivy tried to explain, expecting her new daughter to look at her in disgust.

            Kay felt bad at having put her mother on the spot, and cut her off.  "No, I didn't mean it that way!  I don't resent you or anything. I understand why you'd do something like that.  Besides, some of your schemes were pretty impressive, really creative."

            "Why, thank you!" Ivy cried in relief.  "What do you mean, you understand?" 

            "Just that I know how it feels when you love someone who's with someone else.  I've been in love with Miguel since I can remember, and I think he was going to ask me out, but then Charity strolls into town, and he falls instantly for her.  I've tried as many ways as I could think of to get him to like me, but none of it has worked.  I don't blame you at all."  Again, she found herself opening up, when she was still practically a stranger!

            Ivy instinctively felt protective towards her daughter.  "He picked that little pasty-face over you?!  I don't know the girl very well, but isn't she always raving about evil forces after everybody?"

            "Yeah," Kay snickered, "and nobody EVER gets sick of all her whining, even though it's like every five minutes: 'I sense evil,' 'we're all doomed,' 'something terrible is trying to destroy us.'  They all eat it up!"

            Ivy reached out and took Kay's hand.  "That just shows how very little sense they have, especially Miguel."  The two of them smiled and laughed, and continued talking right up until dinner.  During this time, mother and daughter grew closer and closer, quickly developing a strong bond that had previously been missing in each of their lives.

(A/N:  OK, I cheated a bit on the whole "Antonio's illness" thing, but this is the show as I would write it, and does anyone actually WANT to sit through that lame storyline?  Don't worry, fans of Luis, Sheridan, and/or Antonio, their part will pick up before long…)


	12. The Prosaically Named Chapter 12

            Over the next week, the townspeople went on with their lives as well as they could.  Both Charity and Timmy were released from the hospital and went back home.  The Bennetts attempted several times to visit Laura, but each time she was too tired or sleeping or some other excuse.  Tabitha's powers seemed to have returned to some extent for an unknown reason; she was not at full strength, but could again cast spells.  Life at the Russell house had become a living hell, as TC, Eve, and Chad had to prevent Simone from attacking Whitney numerous times, and all were afraid to leave the disturbed girl alone.  Antonio's surgery had been a success, and he was about to be released from the hospital.  Ivy and Kay continued to grow closer, though Kay's dislike of Julian grew every time she saw him.  Cassandra was revealed and explained as a distant relative from Europe staying at the estate indefinitely.  Ethan puttered around, not knowing what to do with himself, while Gwen ignored her mother and refused to go after Ethan again.  Theresa barely managed to avoid falling totally into despair, even with Pilar and Whitney there to give her support, and Luis had to be given the same speech she'd given Ethan so that he wouldn't kill Julian.  

*****

            It was morning at the Bennett house, and the whole family, plus Miguel of course, was eating breakfast together.  Each member of the family was dealing with last week's revelations in a different way.  Jessica smiled brightly and focused on making everyone else okay, Grace frequently wondered just where she had gone wrong, causing Sam to comfort her.  John shook his shaggy head, sad that Kay hadn't been his sister after all.  True, he hardly knew her and whenever he did talk with her she was mean to him, but still, it must be awful to find out that someone as wonderful as Grace wasn't really your mother.  Charity moaned a lot, insisting that she sensed a new evil rising, and Miguel kept trying to allay her fears.  

            "I'm sorry Miguel, but I keep feeling that a change is happening, and something new is starting, and it has to do with Kay."

            Everyone at the table turned around and stared at Charity.  This really wasn't the time to sit around and accuse their lost family member of evildoing, even if Charity did have a pretty excellent track record.

            Miguel attempted to salvage the situation.  "Charity, you said this thing with Kay had to do with a change.  Well, hasn't that already happened?  I mean, these visions must be your way of dealing with the news that Kay isn't your cousin."

            "Yeah, that must be it," Charity said, still sounding unconvinced, but not wanting to upset everybody else even more.  

            As everybody had finished, Grace began clearing the table, her eyes stopping on the leftover bacon.  "You know, I really should remember to stop fixing some crispy; Kay was the only one who liked it that way…"  Grace's voice choked up, and she couldn't speak anymore.

            Sam went over to her.  "It's okay," he said simply.

            John also decided to speak up.  "Mom, none of this is your fault.  Not the test results or Kay's actions.  She has problems, but you're a great mom!"

            This show of support from her beloved John made Grace feel a little better, but before she could say anything, the doorbell rang.

            "I'll get it!" Jessica yelled in a determinedly perky voice.  Bounding across the living room, followed closely by the others, the teen reached the front door and pulled on the doorknob.  Standing before her was an unhappy-looking teenage girl of medium height and build surrounded by several suitcases.  From a photograph she'd seen, Jessica recognized the girl as Laura, her real sister.

            Brushing away a strand of dark brown hair streaked with red, Laura stared back at her family for the first time.  Seeming to struggle just to speak, the girl finally said, "I'm sorry, I wouldn't have intruded otherwise, but I have nowhere else to go."

*****

            Ivy spun around as soon as she heard footsteps in her room, and was gratified to find that David Hastings had finally arrived.  "All right, I'm here, what do you want now?!" he spat out, disgusted just to be in the same room with her.

            "I just wanted a little update, to find out how you're doing with Grace."

            "She sees me as someone she can count on, but loves Sam just as much as ever.  Your making John out to be her son hasn't done any good. Please, don't you think that it's time you gave up?"

            Ivy shook her head furiously.  "I will never give up on Sam.  We're meant to be!  If it's not working, well, then, you're just not trying hard enough!"

            With a Herculean effort, David barely stopped himself from blowing up.  "I have done my level best, even using my own son in your demented scheme, but if anything they're closer together!"

            Crouching down on his knees, so that he was level with Ivy, his face merely inches from hers, David continued.  "As much as I wish I could, I'll never get Grace, and you'll never get Sam!  And you want to know why you don't have a chance?"

            "**_Why?" Ivy glared back at David evenly, just daring him to speak._**

            "Because Grace is a good person, and you're pure evil!  The person that Sam used to love doesn't even exist anymore!  Although I can't personally believe that you ever had a shred of decency, you must've if an upright person like Sam Bennett could love you, and I've heard Pilar say that you weren't always this way.  But somewhere along the way, you lost whatever goodness you had, and when you did, you lost any chance that Sam would ever take you back!  It isn't even just him; haven't you noticed that you don't have any friends left?  It's because you're rotten to the core, and I hate you!"

            Bristling with rage, Ivy hissed, "And I despise you!"

            "I wish you'd die!"

            "The feeling's mutual!"

            The tension between the two of them had become overwhelming, unbearable.  Something had to give.  Still merely centimeters apart, they each moved in on the other, fully intent upon clawing each other's eyes out; but somehow, David's lips fell onto Ivy's, and the attack melted into a passionate embrace before they realized what they were doing.  When they finally broke apart, David immediately stood back up, and they stared at each other in complete and utter disbelief.

            Ivy was the first to speak.  "Wh-what just happened to us?"

            "Temporary insanity?" David offered, lost for words.

            "_Must have been," Ivy agreed.  They then seemed to make a silent pact to never again speak of it, or even acknowledge that it had happened._

            "Anyway," David pressed on, "I'm quitting right now.  I can't go on like this, pretending to be Grace's long-lost husband and deceiving my own son.  We're through with this deception!"

            Ivy smirked wickedly.  "Do that and everyone will know about your past.  Do you really want John to know that you lied when you told him Grace was his mother _and your dirty little secret?"  David hung his head down, defeated.  "I thought so, now get out and get to work!  Oh, and use the back so no one sees you."_

            After he was gone, Ivy tried desperately to sort out what had happened.  At least one thing was certain: she had to get Sam back FAST.  She was becoming so lonely and desperate for love that she was apt to act irrationally.  She certainly wouldn't have kissed David otherwise, even if he was ruggedly handsome and spoke with that sexy accent, and was quite charming in an adventurous way, and WOW! what a great kisser, and…_No, I can't let myself go there, I'll—_

            "Mother!"                                

            A sick feeling developed in the pit of Ivy's stomach.  Kay stood in the doorway, and from the tone of her voice and the expression on her face, Kay had been listening to at least part of the conversation.  "Kay!  How much did you overhear?"

            "Since about when David said he was quitting."  

            Well, on the bright side she hadn't been present for the kiss.  That Ivy would just have to file under denial.  

            "I can't believe you had hired David the whole time!"

            "I can explain everything! I—," but while Ivy hemmed and hawed, Kay was trying to figure out how she felt about this.  She remembered how it had felt, hearing that her mom had another husband and that she was a bastard, and the hurt she experienced when John entered the picture.  At least when it had only been Charity, she could chalk up her mother's favoritism to being able to share premonitions and stuff.  A part of Kay suddenly raged at Ivy, furious that this woman she was growing so close to had caused her so much pain.  But, just as she was about to mouth off, she saw how worried Ivy appeared, as if the idea of losing Kay really frightened her.  Kay deflated, her anger leaving her.  After all, Ivy hadn't done any of this to her particularly, hadn't even known her when she had set her plan in motion.  What's more, Kay recognized that she was the last person in the world qualified to lecture her mother on the immorality of convoluted schemes.  She had, to be truthful, topped even Ivy when she froze Charity in a block of ice, created a crazed zombie, burned down Miguel's house, and nearly got both Charity and Timmy killed.  Next to that, what's an imposturous husband here and there?

            "You don't have to explain anything, Mom," Kay assured her.  "I told you I understand what it's like.  You must really love him."

            Ivy nodded sadly.  "I do."

            "Think there's any chance this'll work and you'll get him back?"

            "Right now, I really don't know," Ivy admitted.  "David said something before you came in that kind of hit me.  He said Sam would never love me again because I'm not the girl I was, and I think he's right.  If only I could make Sam see me the way I used to be, before I made the mistake of going back to Julian, I might have a chance.  But how could I do that?"

            Kay thought for a minute.  Despite her anger at her old family, she still cared about Sam, the only one who didn't automatically assume the worst of her, and she would much rather think of him as her father than Julian.  Furthermore, Kay wanted to do something for this mother she already found she was beginning to love, and this would be the perfect way to do it!  Then, Sam could marry Ivy and be her stepfather.  Hmmm, _if only I could make Sam see me the way I used to be…That was it!  She COULD help, though it would first require a trip to Tabitha's attic…_

            "Mom!  I've got it, I know how we're gonna get him back for you!"


	13. The Prosaically Named Chapter 13

            So, this was her family.  Laura had not wanted to come here, but had had no choice.  She was now banned from the Crane mansion, and had nowhere to live, no job, no money that had not been repossessed by Alistair, and no way to pay her tuition come fall.  In short, she had been thrown out of the hospital with nothing but a few suitcases filled with her belongings from school.  Just asking to be taken in required her to swallow all of the pride that she had, but it was either the Bennett house or the streets for her.  Arriving at the house, the quaintness of the whole thing made her sick, but at least they didn't look like white trash or anything.  

            Before she knew it, she had been ushered in by an insufferably perky girl, who said that she was her sister, Jessica.  She was then bidden to take a seat on a couch adorned with a tacky patriotic throw.  The man and woman she assumed were her parents then made a big show of welcome, telling her that of course, she was family, and they wanted nothing more than to have her there.  Laura immediately became suspicious.  In her experience, people this warm and friendly invariably had a hidden agenda, and she would make sure to be on her guard.  

            Grace, this mother of hers, began introducing the others in the room.  "As we said, we're your parents, you just met your sister Jessica, and we have a son, Noah, who's off at college.  This is your cousin, Charity, and her boyfriend Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald, and this is my son, John, your half-brother."

            Laura frowned.  "Half-brother?"

            Grace looked a little embarrassed.  "Well, you see, I have amnesia, and don't remember anything over twenty years ago.  It turns out, I was married to a man named David Hastings, and had a child, before that, which means that Sam and I aren't legally married, but I'm getting an annulment so we will be soon."

            _Oh, wonderful, Laura thought to herself.__  I'm also illegitimate.  Tactfully, though, she stayed silent._

            "Well, um, now that you've met everyone here, can we get something for you?"  Grace frowned, apparently not knowing what to do.  Suddenly, she brightened up.  "I know what'll do the trick!  Would you like some tomato soup cake?"

            Laura was sure that she had heard wrong.  "Um, did you say _tomato soup cake?"_

            Grace beamed with pride.  "I certainly did!  I'm somewhat famous for it, if I do say so myself."

            _No surprise there, though "infamous" or "notorious" is more likely, Laura could not help but think.  Still not wanting to offend these people, Laura actually said that she'd love some._

            Grace dashed off, and John began talking to her.  "I know how you must feel; I only found out Grace is my mom a few months ago.  Before then, I didn't even know who my mother was.  But trust me, you're super lucky, because our mom is the best mom in the whole wide world!"

            All Laura could do was agree with him politely.  Was this guy for real, and if he was, why'd she have to have such an utter loser for a brother?  Somehow, she sincerely doubted that he understood how she felt, but once again refrained from saying so.  Trying to find something, anything, to talk to these people about, she turned to Miguel.

            "Say, isn't your mother the housekeeper at the mansion?"

            "Why, yes, she is," Miguel said defensively.  After all, this girl HAD been raised a Crane, and he didn't wish to hear any disparaging comments about the "help."

            "I figured.  I mean, I don't know too many different 'Lopez-Fitzgeralds' running around.  I always liked your mom.  Before I went away to school, I remember she used to try and play with me whenever she could…," Laura almost kept going, but stopped herself when she was getting into waaay too personal territory.

            Before anyone else could speak, Grace came back in with a huge slice of tomato soup cake, which she placed in front of Laura.  "Here, I hope you like it."

            Closing here eyes, Laura took a small bite.  Immediately, she became thankful for all those etiquette classes that she had hated, since otherwise she would have spat it out immediately.  What the hell was her new mother trying to do to her?!  This was, without a doubt, the most horrible putrescence she had ever tasted!  However, though her eyes were watering from the pain, she forced out, "Mmmmm!  This is like nothing I've ever tasted before!"

            "Well, I'm glad you enjoy it, because it's something of a staple around here," Grace chuckled.

            Just as Laura was about to scream, she was saved from another bite when her cousin suddenly fell to the floor, shrieking and writhing in anguish.  Everyone crowded around Charity, and Laura stared at her in disbelief.  Charity eventually got back to her feet with Miguel's help, and cried, "A new evil is coming to Harmony, and it won't stop until it has conquered everything in its path.  There's so much pain and suffering, we're doomed!"

            Grace's brow was furrowed with worry.  "Is this true?  Has someone really invited evil back into Harmony?"

            Jessica joined in with, "What else is going to happen to our family?!"

            Laura, on the other hand, felt as if she had suddenly entered the Twilight Zone.  Charity had just collapsed and then started ranting like an idiot!  Did no one notice that?  "Uh, what just happened here?"

            Grace tried to find the right words to explain.  "I know this is hard to believe, but your cousin gets premonitions of danger and evil.  It sounds crazy, but they usually turn out to be partly right.  I know what it's like: I get them too, either that or an Angel Girl comes down to warn me."

            "Oh," Laura answered, thinking that the streets were starting to sound better and better.  She had a dorky half-brother whose existence made her a technical bastard, a sister obviously living in some weird state of perky denial, an insane (and whiny) cousin, and a mother who has amnesia AND thinks she talks to angels!  Her father seemed halfway normal, until she remembered the whole Ethan situation, and if she had to eat tomato soup cake one more time…

            There was only one explanation.  Everyone here is crazy, the whole lot of them.  Granted, her old family was pretty nutty, but at least she'd had all the money she wanted, and a good deal of independence.  Laura gulped, wondering how in Heaven's name she was going to live with these people while maintaining any degree of sanity.

*****

            Sheridan, Luis, and Pilar were present when Antonio was released from the hospital.  Pilar's feelings on this day were mixed: on one hand, it was wonderful to have Antonio home and healthy, but then again, her heart broke for poor Luis.  Although she wished Sheridan and Antonio great happiness, it didn't seem right that Sheridan was really going to marry Antonio.  As one woman to another, she could sense that, deep down, the young woman's heart wasn't really with her oldest son, but as she couldn't favor one son over another, she kept that opinion to herself.  Whatever happened, Pilar feared that her family would eventually be torn apart by her sons' rivalry.

            Luis wasn't quite sure why he was even there.  He supposed he was glad that his brother was okay after all, but seeing him with Sheridan made Luis want to send him right back into intensive care.  He controlled himself, though, as the three of them left the hospital and arrived at Grace's Bed and Breakfast, where Pilar was staying for the time being.

            After the four of them nervously made small talk for awhile, Pilar noticed the time and got up to leave.  "I'm sorry, but Theresa and I are supposed to take Little Ethan to the zoo.  I told her that he isn't old enough to appreciate it, but she insisted.  I think she's just desperate for a chance to get out of that evil house for a few hours."

            All of them looked down for a minute.  Luis barely stopped himself from putting his fist through the coffee table, and Antonio stared ahead guiltily.  "Damn it, if I'd been around, maybe I could've stopped this from happening to her."

            To everyone's surprise, Luis actually defended Antonio.  "No, you couldn't have.  Don't get me wrong, a lot of things that have happened _are your fault, but this isn't one of them.  You don't know Theresa, she's as stubborn as they come.  When she has an idea, the only way to reason with her is to tie her up and bolt her to the ground.  If Mama, Whitney, me, and how many other people didn't make any difference, your presence wouldn't have."_

            Pilar smiled sadly, happy to see Luis with some decent words for Antonio, but pained to think of her daughter's horrible fate.  Her prayers had been answered when Theresa had turned out to be alive, but would she now have to sit by, virtually helpless, and watch her child die a little bit more every day?  Would it have been more merciful for God to have taken her daughter all at once?  "Yes, Luis, you're right.  Nobody could have stopped all of this, except for maybe the Cranes.  Well, I have to go now, or I'll be late.  If you want to meet up with us later, I'm sure Theresa would love to see you all.  You know where it is."

            After Pilar had left, the three of them sat there awkwardly.  Antonio and Sheridan avoided any overt displays of affection out of respect for Luis; and Luis, having already pleaded his case, did not bring it up again.  If Sheridan was going to decide she wanted him back, he'd take her in a second, but he was not going to force her into anything.  He had learned his lesson in this matter, and knew that would only hurt whatever chances he might yet have with her.

            Despite, or perhaps because of, everyone's consideration and caution, the strain between the three was palpable.  Finally, Sheridan, unable to take it any longer, said, "You know what, why don't we take Pilar up on the offer and go to the zoo?  I haven't really had a chance to talk with Theresa much since I came back, and I'd like to see how she's holding up.  Plus, I'd like to see more of my nephew Ethan."  Sheridan thought about what she'd just said.  "It's weird, being able to say that again," she mused.

            Eager to escape the silence, both men agreed.  They left the hotel and got to Luis' car.  However, just as they were getting in, a group of men wearing ski masks snuck up behind them and placed a chloroform cloth over each of their faces, and they knew no more.

*****

            Timmy had to admit that since his brush with death, he had had things pretty good.  He had always known that Tabitha cared about him, but since his near death, she had been pampering him to distraction.  He had been home for several days now, and there had been no talk of another evil plan.  For a little time at least, he would not be torn between his devotion to his princess and his desire to do good.

            The best thing that had happened to him though, was definitely when Charity thanked him for saving his life.  She had told him that she couldn't remember most of what had happened, but she did know somehow that she wouldn't have made it without him.  Then, she gave him a quick kiss!  He had of course blushed all the way down to his toes, and had modestly said he was only doing what he had to do.  Oh, he would always remember the moment that his sweet Charity had actually kissed him!

            Nothing could have tarnished that moment.  Even when Tabitha had reminded him that the fact that she was still alive would cause them no end of trouble before long, he had just smiled and said it was all worth it.  However, he WAS beginning to get scared: nothing had happened to them thus far, and their life was beginning to take on the aspect of the calm before the storm.  He had been through enough near fatal disasters, though, to know that he couldn't dwell too much on possibilities and instead had to live in the moment.

            It was in this spirit that Timmy had whipped up a batch of Martimmies for the evening, of which Tabitha was more than willing to partake.

            Tabitha sighed, enjoying the drink's perfect flavor.  "Oh Timmy, this is almost good enough to make me forget how much trouble we're both going to be in sooner or later."

            "Timmy thinks that Tabitha should just be happy about how nice things are going now.  Sure, it might get bad later, but why can't you just be happy with the time we have now?"

            The witch frowned seriously.  "I'll tell you why, Timmy.  When I thought I had lost you, it was like the end of the world, only not nearly as much fun.  I love you, and I won't let anything happen to you.  Not again.  If something gets me, then fine, but not you."

            "Timmy promises he'll be careful.  And anyway, maybe we're wrong, and we're free and clear now."

            At that moment, they both heard a knocking on the door.  Who could be calling on them in the evening like this?  Curiously, they went to answer the door.  Standing on the other side of the threshold was a pale young red-haired woman that Timmy did not recognize, but whose presence for some reason somehow made Tabby turn white.  Smirking oddly, she asked, "Hello Tabitha.  Do you mind if I come in?"

            Tabitha looked her over in astonishment.  "Your kind doesn't need an invitation from a witch.  An-and you're dead!"

            Not waiting for an answer, the woman entered, saying, "Oh, I know, I was just being polite.  About the invite, I mean.  As for being dead, Tabitha, I think you need to get new sources, since I'm obviously here."

            Wait a second!  Young, pale, supposed to be dead, and knows all about Tabitha?  And Timmy knew from watching Buffy that vampires usually needed to be invited in—it had to be that Cassandra that Tabby had talked about!  Oh, no, what did this now mean for the two of them?  

            Tabitha quickly put up a brave front.  "Well, you managed not to get yourself killed.  What do you want here now?"

            "Well, Tabitha, I'd like to make a truce."

            Tabitha forgot her instinctual fear and scoffed.  "A truce with you?  Not likely!  Not after you got your son to go through with burning me at the stake!"

            "So _that's why Tabby hates Cassandra!" Timmy exclaimed._

            "Oh Timmy, do be quiet," Tabitha replied harshly, not wanting Timmy to get involved in whatever was about to go down.

            Cassandra laughed casually.  "Oh Tabitha, that was over three hundred years ago.  And you _had moved into my territory, and had begun to mess with my family.  You know I can tolerate just about anything but threats to my family.  I had warned you to back off, but you were already a powerful witch, and wouldn't listen to such a young vampire.  At that point, what other choice did I have?"_

            "Yes, and ever since then, I've kept a curse on your family!" Tabitha countered.

            "About that, Tabitha: I'd appreciate it immensely if you would be so kind as to lift it," Cassandra intoned with practiced courtesy.

            "And why should I?  That curse is what insures that the Cranes will never fully rise to power!"

            "Exactly.  Tabitha, let me put it this way: you've got _some of your powers back, but you're not at full strength.  At this point, you really don't want me as an enemy, especially if you have problems with the dark forces.  I really don't want to fight you; I was young and foolish when I made enemies with you, but I will fight you if I have to.  And, Tabitha," she continued with a devilish smirk, "It won't just be you.  Think of poor Timmy, now that he's human, and so small and defenseless.  Why, a vampire, for example, could drain him in no time at all!"_

            Instinctively, Timmy hid behind Tabitha, scared of what would happen next.  He heard Tabitha, defeat heavy in her voice, finally say, "All right, Cassandra, you win.  I'll lift the curse."

            "Thank you, Tabitha.  You know, I don't know why we must continue to be enemies.  What happened is ancient history, and we might be wise to strike up a partnership of sorts."

            Timmy heard the door shut, and knew that Cassandra had left.  Tabitha turned resignedly, and muttered, "Oh, how I hate vampires!"

            "What did she mean when she said that you couldn't afford her as an enemy?  Why would a witch be so afraid of a vampire?"

            "Vampires aren't at all the way they're portrayed on that silly television show you like, where they're created by the dozens and staked nearly as quickly.  No, Timmy, in reality they are very powerful, quite rare creatures.  A vampire does not sire a child lightly; rather, it is done only to an almost infinitesimally number of said vampire's victims.  They take the possibility of eternal life very seriously, and are extremely selective with the gift.  A person has to be 'worthy,' in their opinion, though the criteria for that worthiness is a complete mystery to all non-vampires.  Even so, most vampires don't last, and the majority are killed within the first fifty to one hundred years of their existence.  When I clashed with Cassandra, she was still unproven, and not relatively powerful.  However, she has now been around since 1650, and has become a highly elite creature.  Furthermore, as a vampire ages, their magical abilities increase, which, though completely unlike any other kind of magic, are highly powerful and not to be messed with.  Also, although vampires are undeniably evil, they are not 'pawns' like I am, meaning that they do not work for the 'friends in the basement' like me, and this total freedom makes them unpredictable.  So you see, Timmy, Cassandra would be a deadly enemy even if I were at my full powers, and, as it is, it would be insane for me to fight when I don't have to."

            Timmy gulped, fearing that the trouble they had been worrying about was now at hand.  "Princess, what do you think Cassandra's up to right now?"

            "I have my ideas, though I don't believe she's entirely certain herself right now.  She's just keeping herself ready for her move as soon as she decides what it will be."


	14. The Prosaically Named Chapter 14

            "Are you _sure about this?" Ivy asked skeptically for about the tenth time while Kay drew a circle out of some unknown blue powder on the floor of the library around Ivy's wheelchair.  She still couldn't believe that she had let her daughter talk her into casting a spell to get Sam back!_

            "I've told you, I've done this sort of thing before, and I've really made things happen," Kay assured her mother, not mentioning to her that she had previously accidentally turned herself into a panther, and unwittingly unleashed a succubus that had nearly destroyed the entire town.  That wouldn't exactly inspire a vote of confidence, and besides, Kay was certain that there was no room for error this time.  She had slipped into Tabitha's attic with little trouble, and had found the perfect spell almost immediately.

            Ivy was still not fully convinced.  "I don't know.  Spell casting?  It's hard for me to believe that something like this could really work."

            "_Nothing is too weird for this town," Kay asserted.  "You were there when Charity's closet became a portal into hell, and when my old house fell into the earth."_

            "That's true," Ivy admitted, "and when Grace put that curse on me, there was lightning and the ground shook."

            Kay immediately dropped the herbs she was shredding, mouth ajar.  "She cursed you?!"

            "Yes, after the tabloid came out and she was in the hospital because of the miscarriage, I visited her, and she lost it!  If I remember correctly, she said, 'I curse you, Ivy Crane, to a life of hell on earth,' for me and all my family.  I didn't believe that anything happened then, but now I'm not so sure."

            "Hah!  I knew it!  I'm so horrible, but let her lose her temper, and she invokes the dark forces for punishment!  She _does have power, Mom, but don't worry; we'll see who's more powerful in the end: her or me."_

            The cold anger in Kay's voice caused Ivy to shiver a little, but she let Kay proceed with the spell.  Her daughter had a point about all of the seemingly supernatural occurrences, and she'd already tried just about everything else, so why not this?  "So, this will make Sam fall in love with me again?"

            "Not quite," Kay answered.  "Magic can't do that sort of thing.  Believe me, I know.  No, when he sees you again, he'll think of you as the girl that he was in love with, with all of the feelings from that time back with full force.  You'll have to do the rest."

            Ivy grinned in anticipation.  "_That I'll be able to work with!  Are you ready?"  David was supposed to be checking in again in less than an hour, and she didn't want him to catch her in such an odd situation._

            "Just about," Kay finished, and smeared a paste she had made by mixing the herbs and water on each of Ivy's cheeks.  "I'm going to say the incantation now.  It's very important that you don't say or do anything to break my concentration."

            Ivy nodded, and Kay stepped outside of the circle.  Holding the Book of Spells, Kay began reciting the incantation in an even tone:

_To Lost Love Remember'd, So Fair and So Pleasant_

_May She Be as She Was, the Former the Present!_

            She repeated the verse twice more, her voice rising each time.  When she finished, a cloud of white smoke permeated the room, leaving her unable to see.  After the smoke had mostly dissipated, Kay spotted Ivy, head and shoulders slumped, unconscious.

            Kay ran over to her mother, noticed briefly that the streaks on her face had vanished, and attempted to revive her.  As Ivy remained insensible, Kay tried to ignore her growing fear.  What if Ivy didn't revive?  Had Kay done something wrong?  "Please, Mom, wake up," Kay pleaded, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

            For an instant, Kay was certain that her mother was dead, but Ivy finally opened her eyes and looked around the room, startled confusion evident in her expression.  Overwhelmed by relief, Kay hugged her, crying, "Thank God, you're okay!"

            When Kay pulled away, she realized that Ivy was staring at her with a complete lack of comprehension.  Eventually, her mother said, "Where _am I?! And who are you?!"_

            Oh, no!  This wasn't what Kay had expected to hear.  "What do you mean?  You're in the library, and it's me, Kay, your daughter!"

            Ivy gawked at her, and then laughed derisively.  "Did my sorority sisters put you up to this?  Are you a pledge, supposed to make me think I've lost my mind?"

            Kay didn't know how to respond to that.  "I-I don't know what you mean," she said, thinking that something must have gone horribly wrong.  Suddenly, an idea came to her.  "'Sorority sisters'?  How old are you?"

            "Why do you want to know?"

            Kay didn't have time for this.  "Please, just answer me."

            Ivy considered this for a moment, and then replied, "Fine.  I'm nineteen, of course."

            Kay could tell by her mother's tone that she was telling what she thought to be the truth.  Well, she was right, and something had gone wrong with the spell.  Exactly what, though, she wouldn't be able to determine on her own.  No, she'd need to go and get outside help.

            "Okay, I know you have absolutely no idea who I am, but, please, you have to trust me right now.  Stay right here, I'll be right back, and don't go **anywhere!"  Leaving a highly perplexed Ivy staring after her, Kay ran as fast as she could towards the only person that she knew of who could help her.**

*****

            Mansion-bound until nightfall, Cassandra occupied herself, as usual, by reading and waiting in her suite.  One didn't get to be three-and-a-half centuries old without learning a little patience. 

             Feeling a bit peckish, Cassandra grabbed the stray cat that she had picked up the night before and drained it dry, relishing its squeals of pain.  She would have much preferred human blood, but Harmony was such a small town that any killings would be big news, and Cassandra couldn't afford to be so reckless right now, not when she had so many hopes.  Still, she consoled herself, whenever the craving got to be too strong, she could always make a trip down to Boston to feed on some derelict.

            Unexpectedly, Cassandra was thrown back several feet, and left gasping for the breath she didn't need.  She had just sensed a great surge of power; more, in fact, than she had ever felt in her unlife.  Someone, a very powerful someone, had just cast a spell of some sort.  It wasn't the spell itself that had sent her reeling, though.  The actual enchantment had been quite average in magnitude.  No, she decided, it was simply that the individual's use of magic had served as a beacon to her senses.  Concentrating with all of her might, she attuned her senses, and attempted to locate the source of the disturbance…

            Kay!  _So, I was right about her after all.  Since the second she had laid eyes upon her, Cassandra had felt that this one was special.  She had picked up on the raw potential brimming just under the girl's exterior.  What's more, the child was driven by rage and hate, emotions that Cassandra could work with.  Even better, she could feel an intangible quality about the girl, as if she were destined for great things.  This magical outburst was the final confirmation that she had been waiting for.  There was no longer any doubt about it: Cassandra had found her True Heir at last!_

*****

            Sheridan awoke slowly, still groggy from whatever had happened to her.  _What DID happen to me anyway? Sheridan wondered.  She remembered heading for Luis' car, and that was it.  What had happened since, and where she was now was a complete blank.  In fact, it wasn't even until she tried to straighten herself out that she realized that she had been tied up, her hands fastened behind her back and a rope wrapped around her body binding her to the chair she was sitting in._

            Looking around her frantically, she spied Luis and Antonio in the dim light, also coming to, tied up on either side of her.  She tried to call to them, but found that her mouth had also been gagged.  Horror at the situation rose as her mind cleared, and though the room was dark, she managed to catch the roaming eyes of both Luis and Antonio, and she knew that they were just as bewildered as she was.

            Frantically, Sheridan attempted to memorize the room that they were in.  It was quite small, and sparsely furnished and decorated as far as she could tell in the limited light.  It was as if the room was not being permanently occupied by a person or business, but was rather only being rented for a short time.

            After a good length of time, the door opened and the bright light from the outside silhouetted a man appearing to be of medium height.  Although she could not see him clearly at all, his mannerism immediately suggested a boastful swagger.  He laughed harshly, gloating over the position he had the three of them in.  Finally, he spoke.  "Well, I see the three of you are awake now.  Two of you I already know, though the third is a mystery to me."

            There was something so familiar about that voice!  Sheridan knew she had heard it before, but couldn't quite place it.  She didn't have to wait long though, because the man then turned the lights on, and Nick stood smirking at her!

*****

            "Ghoulish gargoyles!  I'm here, already!" Tabitha yelled, eager to stop the incessant banging on her door.  Whoever it was had better have a _very good reason for carrying on like this.  Before she had even opened the door all the way, a distraught-looking Kay stormed in._

            "Why Kay!" she exclaimed, shifting into sweet old lady mode.  "You look a fright!  Do sit down and tell me what's wrong.  I've barely even seen you since it came out you're a Crane, and—"

            Kay was in no mood to exchange pleasantries.  "Let's cut to the chase, Tabitha.  I figured out quite a while ago that Reese was right and you're a witch.  It was pretty obvious: the Book, the weird occurrences, Zombie Charity hanging out here a lot, Timmy.  Don't worry; I'm not here to threaten you with anything, but I do need your help with a spell I've cast!"

            Dropping her façade, the witch asked, "Fair enough.  What did you do?"

            "I put a spell on my mom, so that she could get my old dad back, only something went all awry and she doesn't know where she is, who I am, and she thinks she's nineteen!"  

            Tabitha had a delicious inkling of what it could be, but wasn't quite sure.  "I need more information.  Exactly what spell did you use on her?"

            Kay told Tabitha everything, and when she had finished, the witch roared with laughter.  "My poor Kay!  That incantation you used wasn't to make Sam _think of Ivy the way she was.  It was to actually __make her that way!"_

            The girl tried to process this.  "You mean, she thinks she's still nineteen?  Like some kind of amnesia?"

            "If only it were that simple!" Tabitha replied.  "Amnesia as a result of a spell is simple to reverse.  No, Ivy doesn't merely believe that it's over twenty years ago.  Your spell actually took the very essence and soul of the girl back then and brought them to the present.  For all intents and purposes, she IS the nineteen year old version of herself, only trapped in her present-day body."

            Kay gulped.  "What can I do about this?  How do I fix her?"

            "I'm not sure you can!  This kind of spell has no clear reversal, and even if you can work it partially, you may never get her back completely.  It will take a while, at any rate.  For the time being, if I were you, I'd get back to the mansion as soon as possible.  Your mother's most likely scared out of her wits right now, and you certainly don't want her to say anything revealing to someone else, do you?"

            After Kay had looked at her, alarmed, for a second, and then dashed off, Tabitha chuckled happily.  "Oh, Kay, you've really made my day.  Sitting back to watch this fiasco will be supremely entertaining!"


	15. The Prosaically Named Chapter 15

(A/N:  While I will continue to write _Changes as often as I can, updates might take somewhat longer in the future, as I foolishly decided that taking TWO writing intensive classes AND a new foreign language my first semester of college was a good idea!  Oh, the insanity of youth… Anyway, I am by no means abandoning this story, and will keep up with it whenever I have the time.  Once again, a huge thanks to everyone who's taken the time to give me a review.  It's heartening to know that someone is interested in my take on things, and that my writing's not like Simone and her imaginary boyfriend…)  _

            Ivy, left to her own devices, tried desperately to figure out what was going on.  She'd been at her desk, writing a letter to Sam, one moment, and the next, some strange girl was saying she was her "daughter" (a strange joke, even for her sorority sisters to play—why would they get a girl approximately Ivy's own age to say such a thing?).

            Well, whatever was happening, Ivy certainly wasn't going to stay right there and remain a sitting duck for whatever prank was being pulled over on her.  Fairly irritated, she went to stand up—and found she couldn't!  Try as she might, her legs simply didn't work; it was if she was…paralyzed.  It was then that a sick revelation hit her: she was sitting in a wheelchair!  What in God's name was happening to her?!

            Fumbling with the controls on her wheelchair, Ivy eventually deciphered how to make the contraption start, stop, and run in various directions.  Intending to leave the private library she was in and hopefully learn just where she was, Ivy passed a hand mirror on the desk and grabbed it, out of curiosity.  What she saw in it was her biggest shock yet.  It was her reflection, all right, only it was…different.  The features were the same, but they seemed to be more drawn, and lined.  It wasn't the face of a college girl, but that of a middle-aged woman.  True, a remarkably well preserved middle-aged woman, but a middle-aged woman nonetheless.

            Okay, the other Alpha Alpha Alpha girls hadn't set THIS up!  As Ivy fought very hard to keep from breaking down completely, one thought consoled her.  _Why am I so worried?  This is a dream, that's all.  I fell asleep while writing the letter, and I'm having a really weird dream.  It's nothing to get upset about!_

            Just as she was starting to feel better, a rather dashing brown-haired older man stormed in.  "There you are, **_Ivy," he fumed at her.  "Before you say anything, no I haven't made any further progress.  It's only been a couple of days since we last spoke!"_**

            She had certainly never spoken to this man before, and yet he talked as if they were familiar.  Also, he acted as though he hated her with a great passion.  "I have absolutely no idea who you are!  And I certainly don't have a clue what you're talking about, or what I've ever done to you!"

            The man glared at her even more disgustedly.  "What twisted game are you playing now, Ivy?"  He moved in on her, until he towered over her wheelchair.  "Are you afraid that someone's listening in on us?  Well, if they are, I'll tell them what a manipulative, lying bitch you are!  I don't care anymore."

            Ivy shrunk back, clearly intimidated despite her best efforts to appear unafraid.  After all, this man despised her for some reason, and if he were to attack her, she would be practically defenseless, unable to either run away or fight back effectively.  "_Please," she pleaded, "I don't understand what's going on!  And I don't know who you are or why you're so hateful to me!"_

            The man assessed her for a minute, until his eyes opened wide in amazement.  "Why, Ivy Crane," he gasped.  "I do believe you're telling the truth!"

            Ivy was now more confused than ever.  "My name isn't 'Crane,' it's 'Winthrop'!  What's yours, anyway, and why would you call me that?"

            "David Hastings," he replied, too dumbfounded to say anything else.

            Before either of them could speak again, the strange girl Kay bolted into the library, red in the face and breathing hard.  "You haven't spoken to anybody, have you?  Because—" Kay stopped when she noticed that David was also in the room.  "Oh, you're here," Kay finished unhappily.

            "Yes, I am," David replied.  "Something very strange is going on here, and I aim to find out what it is!"

            "Me too!" said Ivy sensing that this girl was somehow the only one could explain the situation.  "What's wrong with me?"

            Kay gave David an appraising look, as if trying to decide whether or not to take him into confidence.  "Fine, I guess I'll have to explain it to both of you.  Oh well, I guess you were kinda in on this before, David."

            "Get on with it then!" they both insisted in unison.

            Kay took a deep breath, as if the explanation to this whole thing was going to be terribly long and convoluted.  "You both have to promise not to say anything until I've finished, or else I'll never get it all out.  First of all, Ivy, you have to remember: you are not nineteen years old.  Except, you sort of are, but I'll get to that later."

            Oblivious to the totally confused expressions on her audience's faces, she continued to speak.  "Here's the short version of it all: It's 2002, and you're married to Julian Crane, well, were married anyway.  This is the Crane mansion, your home, and you have four children, a son and three daughters, of which I'm your youngest.  Not long after where you just came from, circumstances broke you and Sam Bennett up.  Heartbroken, you married Julian Crane to please your parents and because you thought that he loved you, but on your wedding night found out that his father had ordered him to propose.  You ran back to Sam, spent the night with him, but were apparently manipulated somehow into going back to Julian, even though you were carrying Sam's baby.  You stayed with Julian and passed your son, Ethan, off as a Crane, but had three daughters with your husband.  Meanwhile, Sam, not knowing he's the father, gets over you and marries this woman, Grace, who has amnesia, and they have three kids.  Last year, a tabloid found out that Ethan is Sam's son, he got disinherited, and Julian divorced you.  Since then, you've been trying to get Sam back, but he won't leave his wife, so you blackmailed David here into pretending to be Grace's long-lost husband and telling his son John that Grace is his mother.  This is where it gets kind of unbelievable, but bear with me.  Even that didn't work, so I offered to help you out.  I found a spell that I thought would make Sam see you the way you were when you were nineteen, but apparently, it took the nineteen-year-old you and stuffed you into the body you're in now.  I'm gonna try and fix you, but we need to make sure that no one else finds out."  After having gone through all of that as fast as she could, Kay gasped for breath, hoping that it wouldn't be too hard to get them to believe her.

            Both David and Ivy gaped at Kay incredulously.  "That's completely ridiculous!  What you say could never happen, since I would never do something like that to Sam, and anyways, I love him, and I'd never try to get him back through lies and manipulation!"

            After hearing Ivy's words, David was more than convinced of everything that Kay had claimed.  "You're a VERY stupid girl, Kay!  You helped Ivy out in her scheming, by using black magic?   You didn't even think this through, consider what the consequences might be?  Well, Kay, you truly are your mother's daughter."

            "Look, David," Kay replied angrily.  "You have no right to lecture me, and besides, you're not so perfect yourself!"

            Ivy startled both of them by laughing hysterically.  "You expect me to believe that you're my daughter, I married JULIAN CRANE, my entire life has been a disaster, and you cast a spell that brought me into the future?  Why, that's the most preposterous thing I've ever heard!"

            Kay anxiously contemplated an argument that would convince Ivy.  "I don't blame you for not believing me.  The whole situation is insane, but it's the truth!  Unfortunately, you haven't seen any of the freaky things that have happened over the past couple of years, so I can't mention those.  Still, just look around, and you can see I'm telling you the truth!  You're older, in a wheelchair, and people you've never met will know you.  As I said, I'll do everything I can, but I need you to believe me, since we can't let anyone know and you'll have to pretend that you're the present you."  As Kay finished, she hoped that last bit made at least a small amount of sense.

            Ivy considered Kay's words carefully.  Barring dreaming and/or insanity, she couldn't think of anything else that would explain her situation.  The whole supernatural thing was extremely far-fetched, but Ivy somehow felt instinctively that the girl was telling the truth, and she was indeed trapped in her future body.  This teenager, then, really was…her daughter.  Not her child with Sam, though, but with Julian Crane, of all people!  How could she be so stupid as to make the decisions that Kay said she had?  What had gone wrong in her life that could have brought her to the point she was at?!                           

            This was all too much for her to even begin to process or understand.  "I believe you, and I just want to go home," Ivy implored urgently.

            "You will," Kay vowed, though she secretly had no idea how this would eventually work.  _Would this Ivy get sent back?  Or would her present mother's essence effectively "overwrite" this one's?  She certainly couldn't be sent back to her place in time with any memory of her fate, or the timeline would be altered.  Had her Ivy been transported somewhere, had she been overcome by this new one, or, and this was the possibility that terrified Kay, had the mother she knew been effectively obliterated?  Until Kay knew more about this, though, she had to stay together and remain focused, and there was no point in scaring Ivy any more than she already had been.  _

            "I'll figure this all out.  I've got a lot at stake in this, too.  After all, I want my Mom back," Kay said quietly.  Trying to sound confident, she added, "And anyways, David is going to help us with this problem as well."

            David immediately reeled back.  "Just wait one second here!  Why should I help her out, after everything she's done to me?"

            "_She hasn't done anything to you, David!" Kay countered.  "This is Ivy Winthrop, NOT Ivy Crane.  She's completely innocent of anything she might have done since."_

            David was not persuaded.  "Even if that's true, I still don't see why I'd WANT our Ivy back, just so she could continue to force me to do her bidding, which is the essentially the end result if you succeed."

            "Let me put it this way, _David," Kay said maliciously.  "My mother may be the only one who knows your big secret, but __I could tell everyone that you were lying about being married to Grace Bennett.  Don't think I won't, either; I have no loyalties to you, and I'll stop at nothing to help my mother.  Besides, it would be kind of fun to see what it does to her and to precious John."_

            The icy glint in Kay's cold blue eyes convinced David that she was not bluffing, and he stared at the teen in astonishment, and more than a little anger.  "It figures, I lose one blackmailer, and I gain another.  Fine, I'll do all that I can.  What do we do now?"

            "Well," replied Kay, "Ivy still needs to be taught as much as possible about her life now.  We'd better begin immediately…"

*****

            Hank bumped into Gwen quite by accident outside of Sheridan's cottage.  "Hello, Gwen, what brings you here today?"

            Thankful that Hank had at least had the decency not to start by bringing Ethan up right away, Gwen answered him directly.  "Sheridan and I were supposed to meet up for lunch several hours ago, but she never showed.  I was hoping I'd find her here, but I don't think she's home.  How about you?"

            "Same thing, except I'm looking for Luis.  We were supposed to play ball, but it's like he's just vanished.  And it's not just him: Antonio's nowhere to be found, either.  Pilar's getting really worried, and I promised her that I'd do my best to find them both."

            "Hmm, I don't like this at all," Gwen mused.  "Sheridan's not one to just bail out on people, and if all three of them are missing together?  With the track record they have, there's no telling what could've happened to them!"

            "I was thinking that, too," Hank replied.  "Pilar said that the last time she saw them, they were all at the Bed and Breakfast.  Maybe we should go there and see if we can find anything."

            Although Gwen certainly didn't want to spend any length of time with Hank, her concern for her friend won out over her discomfort, and she agreed to go with Hank.  The two of them drove over to the Bed and Breakfast, where they saw Luis' car, still parked in front.  "It hasn't been moved in a while," Hank explained.

            Suddenly getting an idea, Hank jumped out of his car, and started searching the ground around the police vehicle.  Almost immediately, he found something telling.  "Luis' car keys, just lying on the ground!" Hank exclaimed with grim satisfaction.

            "What do you think that means?" Gwen asked, beginning to get alarmed.

            "Well, as far as I can tell, Luis, most likely along with the others, was trying to get into the car, when something happened, something that made all three of them basically disappear."

            "Do you think they could've been abducted, then?"                              

            "That seems to be the most likely conclusion.  I mean, Sheridan never did lack for enemies, and we don't really know all that much about Antonio's past.  Plus, Luis is a cop and you sometimes run into dangerous personalities on the beat."

            "Then, we have to alert the authorities right away!"

            "They might not take us seriously, if we don't have any concrete leads, and even if they do, all that red tape will take up time that we just don't have.  Besides, that might be the absolute worst thing we could do right now.  We don't know who we're dealing with, and if a big investigation starts up, whoever has them might just decide to get rid of them and hide the evidence."

            "But we have to do something!" cried Gwen.  "We can't just sit here now, when we know that they're probably in horrible danger!"

            "Yes, we do," agreed Hank.  "And we will, or at least, I will.  I'm going to get to the bottom of this no matter what, but I'll definitely have a better chance of succeeding and helping them if I have a partner.  What do you say, Gwen?  Are you in?"

            "Of course I am!" Gwen replied without hesitation.  "Sheridan's my best friend, and I'm not going to lose her again, not after we just got her back.  Despite what you may think of me, I'm not a totally evil monster devoid of any feelings, and I do care about my friends."

            "I _never thought you were, Gwen!" Hank insisted.  "Anyway, if we're going to find them, we're going to have to find out who their enemies might be, and the best way of doing that is to start by finding out what 'Brian' and 'Diana' have been doing this past year."_


	16. The Prosaically Named Chapter 16

            "That's why I'm stuck in this stupid thing?!" Ivy cried, once again interrupting Kay.  "I got struck by _lightning?  On top of EVERYTHING else that's happened to me, I got struck by lightning?!"_

            "I know, but things like that happen a lot here in Harmony," Kay remarked offhandedly.  She didn't have time to keep digressing; at any moment, Ivy might have to deal with somebody else, and then she'd have to know the right things to say.  Kay had been trying to tell Ivy everything about her life now, but the problem was, Kay didn't _know everything.  Having been so recently discovered as Ivy's daughter, a great deal of the woman's life was still a mystery to her.  She had rather apologetically explained that fact to her mother, who had been quite shocked that Kay had been raised by Sam Bennett, but even more so that the future her and Kay had grown so close in such a short time.  _

            "Yeah, well, you were the first person in ages who ever seemed to actually care about me, and not just the trouble they thought I was causing," Kay had said simply, and changed the subject when she saw Ivy's quizzical expression, just beginning to form a question that she would most likely not want to answer.

            "Mom," Kay said, still using that moniker even though it wasn't quite true anymore, "you have to focus.  We can't afford anybody getting suspicious, and any odd behavior will be noticed right away in this house!  It's full of your enemies.  Now, another thing that you need to know is—"

            Kay was promptly cut off by a maid, the one she knew as Phyllis.  Kay cursed inwardly, knowing that she had to be careful around this servant, who was loyal to Theresa and absolutely hated Ivy.  Forcing a smile, Kay asked, "What is it, Phyllis?  Is there something wrong?"

            "No, Miss, at least, I don't think so.  I do have a message for you, though.  Your grandfather wishes to speak with you in his study right away."

            Kay bit her lip, knowing that if Alistair wished to have a word with her, refusing him was not an option.  Kay wanted to give Ivy a quick warning about what she should do until Kay came back, but she didn't dare, not with Phyllis practically breathing down her neck.  If that maid saw anything out of the ordinary, she would without a doubt report it to Theresa without delay, and who knows what her step-mother would do with it?  Damn that David, if only he had stuck around a little longer, but he had insisted upon getting back to the Bennett house for a while to check on John and see if he, or Grace, needed anything.

            "Thank you, Phyillis; I'll be going right now.  Bye Mom; I'll see you soon."  Kay rushed out of the library, with Phyllis close behind, who thankfully didn't seem to notice the odd whimper and look of panic that Ivy had given the departing Kay.  _I'm sorry, Mom, but I didn't have any choice.  I hope you can handle yourself alright on your own, Kay worried, comforted somewhat by her opinion that her mother certainly appeared to have enough brains and inner strength to avoid tripping herself up._

            Too preoccupied to even be curious about what Alistair might want with her, Kay approached the study, hoping fervently that, whatever it was, it wouldn't take too long.

*****

            Calling upon her entire inner reserve, Ivy did not start hyperventilating as soon as Kay had left the study.  If she could only stay calm, she knew that she could handle any situation that might arise.  _After all, she reminded herself rather proudly, __how many people could find themselves in my situation and remain this composed?_

            Attempting to do something constructive until Kay returned, Ivy mentally went over the entire population of the mansion at the present, so that she would be prepared for anyone that she might see.  There was, of course, Julian Crane, that awful man that she hadn't been able to stand at that one party she'd been to.  What could possibly have made her marry THAT creep?  His father was there as well, and she'd need to watch out for him, and Rebecca Osburn, make that Hotchkiss, was staying there as Julian's mistress!  That one had really thrown her: she knew her friend could be ruthless, but even Ivy had never dreamed that she would sink that low.  As if that weren't confusing enough, Rebecca's daughter Gwen had resided there as well, formerly dating her son Ethan, who had wanted to marry Pilar's daughter, who somehow had gotten herself married to Julian, and had had to break things off with Ethan, who for some unknown reason was still living at the mansion!  Apparently, all of these people, now had a vendetta against her for reasons that she did not really know, except Ethan and possibly Gwen…

            Ivy's head was now swimming, her brain suffering from information overload.  Just as she was about to go over the facts again, a middle-aged Hispanic woman walked in, who, though clearly quite older, was nevertheless unmistakable as Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald, her maid, friend, and confidante.  Forgetting herself for a second, Ivy happily exclaimed, "Pilar! It's so good to see you!"

            Pilar frowned suspiciously.  "I'm here to talk to my daughter, Ivy.  And what are you up to now?  You're talking like we're still friends."

            Ivy, irritated that she had momentarily forgotten the role that she was playing, covered herself with a laugh.  "I'm not 'up to' anything, Pilar.  It's just that I've been thinking about us, and hoping that it's still possible to repair our friendship."

            "After what you've done to my Theresita?!" Pilar yelled with a fury that Ivy had not even imagined Pilar could possess.  "If it hadn't been for you, well, maybe her life wouldn't have been the disaster it's become.  I'm sorry, Mrs. Crane, but we will NEVER be friends again!"  With that, Pilar stormed off, presumably continuing her search for Theresa.

            Ivy simply couldn't believe it.  Kay had warned her that the friendship had lately taken a nasty turn due to her anger at this Theresa, who had supposedly exposed Ivy's secret, but Ivy had been totally unprepared for _that.  She had never seen her friend that upset, or even knew that Pilar could be so harsh.  A highly unpleasant question began to gnaw at Ivy: what exactly __had she done to Theresa to make things this bad?_

            As if on cue, a pretty young woman of obvious Mexican descent marched in purposefully.  "Mama?  Are you in here?"  Upon noticing Ivy, the girl's features instantly contorted into a mask of pure loathing.  "So, Ivy, would you like to gloat again about how I'm never gonna have Ethan now, and that you've won after all?"

            "Uh, no, I wasn't actually planning on it," Ivy replied, deciding to play it safe and say as little as possible.

            "Good, because you might have ruined my life, but you certainly haven't won.  I may be trapped with Julian, but I'm Mrs. Crane for good now, and you're going to live to regret every single thing you've ever done to me.  You took away my life, and I _will take away yours."  _

            The young woman appeared to be dead serious, and Ivy didn't think that she had ever seen someone whose eyes were quite so close to bulging out of their sockets.  "I…'took away' your life?" Ivy asked, hoping that she would get some sort of explanation without revealing herself.

            Theresa looked even more furious, if such a thing was possible.  "So, you're going to deny it again, are you?  I _know that you and Rebecca got me executed by sending me that fake surveillance tape that showed Ethan killing Julian so that I would confess and get the death penalty.  Oh, I'll never be able to prove it, I've accepted that," she laughed contemptuously.  "But mark my words, before I'm done with you, you'll wish that the authorities had caught you.  You know, I've been doing a little thinking about it all, and I've come to realize that you have got to be the coldest-hearted bitch in all of New England!  I can understand trying to protect yourself and Ethan when you thought I was just a lying little gold-digger, but your entire plan depended on the assumption that I loved Ethan enough to die for him!  You actually sat there and watched what we all thought to be my death, and saw me DIE to protect your son, never telling his 'secret' even as I received the supposedly lethal injection, and you just let it happen!  Personally, I don't know how you manage to get up in the morning, remembering what you've done.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find my mother now, but we'll talk again soon, and Ivy: be afraid."_

            Ivy stared after her in absolute horror.  She had wanted to know what she could have done to make Pilar hate her, and, well, getting her daughter executed for murder would certainly do the trick.  If what Theresa had said was true (and Ivy had a wretched suspicion that it was), then she richly deserved all of the hatred she had gotten, and more.  Kay had told her about Julian's supposed murder, and of Theresa's near death, but her daughter had obviously been unaware that she had done _that!  To actually frame someone for murder by playing on their love for her own son… _

            "Oh, God!  What sort of person am I here?!  Am I really this much of a monster?"  Ivy sat with these horrid thoughts in her head for what seemed like ages, when she heard the door open yet again.  Ivy's face lit up, hoping that Kay had finally come back, but her hopes were dashed when she saw that it was a rather professional-looking African-American woman who seemed to be a doctor.  She had clearly come straight from the hospital, as she still had her name tag pinned onto her coat.  By straining her eyes to the fullest, she could just barely make out the name 'Dr. Eve Russell' on the tag.

            "Hello…Dr. Russell," Ivy said with a feigned cheerfulness.  "What are you here for?"

            The woman shot her a quizzical look.  "Don't you remember?  I have an appointment with you today.  To see how you're doing with your injury."

            "Oh yes, of course I remember.  It must have just slipped my mind!" Ivy laughed a bit, but stopped when she realized that Dr. Russell did not seem amused at all.  _Oh great, does SHE hate me too?, Ivy wondered._

            The doctor proceeded with the checkup, giving her an examination and asking questions whose answers Ivy made up randomly.  Finally, she finished with, "And as for the prescription, you've been sticking to it this time, right?  You haven't been overmedicating yourself again?"

            "No, of course not!" Ivy declared, while speculating that maybe she was also addicted to painkillers.  She did feel a bit shaky and edgy, and it was possible that some of that could be due to her body's withdrawal, and not just her reaction to being catapulted into the future.

            "Good," the doctor said.  "Although, if it weren't for the Hippocratic Oath I took, I'd prescribe you a fatal dose with no hesitation.  It wouldn't be any more than you deserve."

            "Why, I don't know what you're talking about!" Ivy cried truthfully, shocked by her doctor's abrupt contempt.  

            "Oh come on, Ivy!  You had my daughter drugged so that you could threaten my family and intimidate me into falsifying the DNA results into saying that John is Grace's son!  With everything you've done to me, I can hardly be blamed for wishing you dead.  But, as your physician, I'm obligated to work to insure your health and well-being.  Your condition is stable, but unchanging.  You're doing relatively well, but have not shown any noteworthy improvements.  I'll check back on you in a couple of weeks."  Dr. Russell then left the room, her entire demeanor brightening up with the knowledge that she could now leave the mansion.

            "So, now I'm an addict who drugs innocent girls in order to advance her evil machinations!"  Ivy laughed hysterically for a moment, but her laughter soon turned to tears as the weight of it all caught up with her and she broke down completely. 

*****

            "Hello, Grandfather," Kay said politely, noticing that Julian was also present.  "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

            Although he seemed to struggle, Alistair managed something that resembled an actual smile.  "Well, I'm not getting any younger, and I need an heir to take over Crane industries and head the family when I'm gone.  For a long time, I thought that Ethan would be my heir, but, as the entire world now knows, he's not a Crane.  I've been reluctant to reinstate Julian, for obvious reasons, and have had no other strong contender since.  It's a situation that has caused me a great deal of anxiety, since the family cannot continue without a proper heir."

            "I'm sorry, but I really don't see what any of this has to do with me," Kay said directly.

            "I'm getting to that.  I haven't found anyone in the family to be worthy of such a position.  That is, Kay, until you entered the picture.  Congratulations, I have decided to name you my heir."

            "What?!" Julian cried indignantly.  "That's preposterous!"

            For once, Kay had to agree with her father.  Kay may have been many things, but she certainly wasn't stupid.  There was no logical reason that she could think of for her grandfather to do such a thing.  "Why would you do that?  You barely know me, I don't have the right education, and I wasn't even raised a Crane!  Plus, I've heard that you won't give any positions of power to a woman, and even if you've changed your mind about that, why not Sheridan or one of my sisters?"

            Alistair smiled again, though once again it was forced.  "My dear Kay, sometimes one can just…sense a certain quality right away, with hardly any acquaintance.  This is merely just such a time.  In fact, your overall worthiness was so strong that it overruled my former, shall we say, 'prejudices' about women in power."

            While Julian sputtered furiously, Kay inwardly dissected her situation.  She couldn't deny how alluring Alistair's offer seemed: if she became Crane heir, then she would one day be one of the most powerful people in the world, able to determine the tide of world events!  However, despite her attraction to the prospect, Kay simply could not believe what he had just said.  It still didn't add up, and she could sense the insincerity in both his voice and his mannerisms, as if he was being forced against his will to say the things that he had uttered.  Because of this, Kay refused to be impressed until she got a satisfactory explanation behind her grandfather's behavior.

            Eventually, it seemed that Alistair had determined that Julian had been allowed to fume for quite enough time, Alistair dismissed him, saying that he needed to discuss specific arrangements with Kay.  Once they were alone, Kay glared and asked frankly, "All right, why don't you tell me what's really going on?  Because I don't believe a single word that you just said."

            "Good.  That speaks well of your intelligence, at least.  You're right; if it were up to me, I wouldn't name you my heir."

            Kay stared at him, not comprehending.  "I don't get it, then.  You run everything, so why would you do something that you don't want to?"

            Alistair sighed resignedly, forced to reveal his secret at last.  "Well, Kay, that's not really exactly true.  You're likely to believe this even less than anything else, but there's no way around telling you.  I'll explain everything, or rather, Cassandra will."  As he said her name, the woman whom Kay had been introduced to as her second, or third, or whatever cousin drifted out from a dark corner.

            If Kay had been confused before, she was downright baffled now.  What did this girl, whoever she was exactly, have to do with anything, especially her new status?  True, there did seem to be something strange about this relative, with her creepy white skin and unsettling bearing that somehow suggested that she was very dangerous, but nothing that pointed even remotely towards an explanation.

            "Hello, Kay," Cassandra smiled eerily, though Kay got the feeling that whatever it was with her, Cassandra didn't mean her any harm.  "I hope that you don't have to be anywhere right away, because we need to have a good, long talk so that the two of us might get better acquainted."


	17. The Prosaically Named Chapter 17

            Upon reentering the library, David saw a sight that left him dumbfounded.  Ivy was sitting, alone, in the library.  Crying.  A lot.  Even knowing that she wasn't the Ivy that he knew, he could have never imagined her in tears, displaying a vulnerability that was very nearly…human.

            She looked so lost and frightened that David, before he realized it, began to feel sorry for her, trapped in such an awful situation.  However, as soon as these thoughts appeared, he purposefully brushed them away.  This was still the woman who had blackmailed him; just because she hadn't done it yet did not mean that he was not looking at the girl who would become his enemy.  Still, he needed to calm her down, so he kneeled down next to her and asked, "Ivy, what's wrong?"

            "Why do they all hate me?" she sobbed, but just as he opened his mouth to reply, she cut him off.  "You don't have to answer me; I already know.  It's true, isn't it?"

            "What exactly do you mean?"                      

            "Several people came in here, and the things they accused me of…" she looked intensely into David's eyes, "and they're telling the truth, aren't they?  I actually got Theresa to confess and drugged Dr. Russell's daughter, didn't I?"  

            David nodded solemnly.  "I'm not certain about Theresa, though I think you did, and I know for a fact that you forced Dr. Russell to change the DNA results."

            Through her tears, Ivy smiled wryly.  "Right.  Everyone hates me, or if they don't, they should.  I deserve it for what I've done.  You hate me too, right?"

            David shifted, slightly embarrassed.  "Well, uh, you, or the other you, anyway, are blackmailing me.  I'm rather justified."

            "Of course, I don't blame you.  If I ever came across someone that horrible, I'd hate her too.  From everything I can tell, I'm pure evil."

            Uncomfortable just sitting next to a woman in hysterics and doing nothing, David grabbed a tissue from a box on the desk, and gently wiped her eyes.  "You haven't done any of this, Ivy, it's not your fault.  You're not the heartless woman that I know."  As David said these words, he found, to his amazement, that he meant them.  No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't reconcile this younger version of his adversary as the same person that he hated.  Pilar had been right: it was appalling just how much she had changed over the years.

            Ivy shook her head soberly.  "This is still my future, what I'm going to be.  I know that I'm not perfect, but I always thought of myself as a halfway decent person.  Certainly not a murderer, at the very least.  How could I have gotten to this point?"

            "According to what I've heard, it was a slow process, beginning when you married Julian and started living as a Crane.  You spent all of your energy raising Ethan to be nothing like them, and, as far as I can tell, he's a fine young man.  You, however, were warped in the process, and eventually became just like the worst of the family."  He had never really believed that before, thinking it was ridiculously melodramatic to talk of a person being "slowly tainted" by evil, but he was now realizing the full extent of what the Cranes had done to her.

            "Kay told me when my father and Alistair Crane split Sam and me up," Ivy mused.  "She also said that I'm supposed to marry Julian in just a few months from where I came from.  That means, I'm just about to make the mistakes that will lead to all this!"

            "It makes sense, really, that the spell took you from where it did.  It was supposed to bring back the girl that Sam loved, so it would take you while you were still untainted, and right before you accepted Julian."

            The tears were gone now, and Ivy was fuming.  "I'm so stupid, allowing myself to be manipulated like that!  It was my one chance at happiness, and I blew it.  I let myself be led along until I couldn't go back, and here I am, paralyzed from the waist down, almost universally hated, and truly evil.  Plus," she admitted sheepishly, "I think I've gotten myself addicted to painkillers."

            In spite of everything, David couldn't help laughing a little.  "That, and all the champagne I've seen you drink, would explain a lot."

            Ivy giggled as well, unable to deny the humor of the situation.  "Can't you just see me?  Whizzing around in this thing with a pill bottle in one hand and a wine glass in the other, saying things like, 'You will be mine again, Sam,' and 'I will destroy you, Theresa'?"  Both being able to picture such an image quite well, the two of them shared another laugh, though it soon became bittersweet for Ivy.

            "Oh God, what am I going to do now?  I mean, I know that I'll have to play this part, while Kay tries to fix it all, but what then?  I don't think that even she knows how it'll all pan out.  What's _really going to happen to me?"  Her expression as she asked this question that must have been haunting her the whole time could only be described as panic, albeit remarkable well-controlled._

            Not able to offer any words of solid comfort, David could only squeeze her hand sympathetically.  "I wish I could tell you, but none of us know.  We're just going to have to face it when we get there, and trust that Kay, of all people, can come up with something."

            "Yes," Ivy said distractedly, "My daughter.  As far as I can tell, she seems to be the only person around who doesn't totally despise me.  In fact, she genuinely seems to really love me!"

            "Yes, well, I'm sorry to say this, but I wouldn't be too cheered up by her approval.  That girl has some serious problems."

            "I can tell.  There's something dangerous about her, and then there's the fact that she's been messing with black magic!  Still, I can't help but like her, I know it's strange, but it's like I somehow have this connection with her, even though I haven't even had her yet.  I don't know why, but somehow I can tell that she's basically a loving person, but really desperate.  Oh, I do wish she'd get back in here, though, I wonder what Alistair Crane wants to see her about."

            David took in a deep breath when he realized that he, against his will, was beginning to like this Ivy quite a lot!  She was moral and decent and caring, while still remaining witty, feisty, and tough.  Furthermore, though he had to admit that she'd always been extremely attractive, the chilling frost that he had formerly observed in her eye had vanished, replaced, in her happier moments, with a warm twinkle.  This intangible change made a world of difference, making Ivy breathtakingly beautiful, and his thoughts began to drift to that insane but electric kiss he had shared with the other Ivy…

            _No!, David insisted to himself furiously.  __I am NOT going to let myself go there! This is already confusing enough without making it even more complicated for myself.  _

_            Staring ahead at the door of the library, David fervently hoped that Kay would be joining them soon._

*****

             Having finished her tale, Cassandra waited expectantly for Kay's reaction.  Of course, she hadn't told the girl _everything.  That would all come in good time, but it was important that Kay should slowly step into her role, and not get frightened off.  For now, it was quite enough that she know that Cassandra was a vampire, and her ancestor, who looked over the family and had secured their fortune.  _

            Though she looked somewhat nonplussed, Kay replied evenly, "So, vampires are real, huh?  And you are one?  That's really interesting and all, but I still don't see why I'm the Crane heir now."

            Cassandra smiled while Alistair appeared startled that she so readily believed in supernatural creatures.  While it pleased Cassandra, it didn't surprise her, as a girl who to some extent was already involved in magic would probably have an open mind about such forces.  "I know that this will sound like a repeat of what Alistair told you, but I really COULD sense a certain quality about you, and I liked it.  Plus, I know you have power, I could feel that spell you cast earlier today."

            Alistair was about to exclaim something, but Cassandra raised her hand in warning.  She perceived that Kay was getting nervous, and assured her, "You needn't worry.  I have no interest in what you were doing, if you wish to keep it a secret.  All I care about is the potential you showed, a potential that makes you the best of all the current candidates for Crane leadership."  That was enough for now; no point in overwhelming her with talk of being the True Heir and what her expectations would eventually be.

            Cassandra watched as Kay seemed to silently weigh her ancestor's words carefully, judging the logic behind them.  Apparently satisfied with the reasoning Cassandra had used, Kay finally answered, "Fine.  I guess I'd be crazy to say 'no' to what you're offering me.  So, how does this work now?"

            Satisfied with her Heir's decision, Cassandra struggled to conceal her excitement.  "You'll need to start receiving instruction, and it will be fairly intense, to make up for all the time that you were hidden from us.  There is no need to do anything at the present, though.  You shall be allowed some time to get used to the idea, and get over the media circus that will ensue from the news.  When everything dies down to a reasonable calm, I'll send for you to begin.  Does that sound reasonable to you?  If so, you may go now."

            Nodding assuredly, though a bit dazed, Kay thanked her and left the den.  Turning to Alistair, she gloated, "See what I mean?  She's perfect!"

            Alistair snorted, irritated to have been so observably undermined in authority, though he reluctantly admitted, "She is rather impressive, all things considered.  However, I certainly never thought I'd see the day when a female, raised by those Bennetts, was marked to run Crane Industries!"

            Cassandra offered another toothy grin.  "I'm afraid you'll just have to deal with it, because the times are changing, and this family will go places _you've never even dreamed of!"_

*****

             "I still can't believe you pulled all this off on a couple of hours' notice!" Hank remarked as the plane Gwen had chartered began its descent.

            "You said we needed to investigate Sheridan and Antonio's activities, and what better way than to talk to the people who knew them where they were living?" Gwen replied, unable to hide the satisfaction she felt at having been able to arrange their trip to St. Lisa's without delay.  "As for this, well, you should just be glad you're teamed up with someone who has as many connections as I do.  After we find out whatever we need, we can go wherever we need to go in no time at all."

            "Good thinking, but we'll have to be careful; someone might get suspicious if they notice us flying all over the place."

            Gwen rolled her eyes.  "I'm not stupid!  I know we can't zip back and forth all the time.  However, this is the quickest way to get anywhere, and we don't know how much time we have to find them.  And anyhow," she added matter-of-factly, "if anybody noticed us flying off together, they'd just assume we were having a romantic fling."

            Hank raised an eyebrow in her direction.  "A fling?" he asked, amusement evident in his voice.

            Well," Gwen shifted uncomfortably, "we _are going to a tropical island, and you are a reasonably attractive man, and I'm technically on the rebound on account of Ethan…" her voice trailed off, until she caught herself.  "But this isn't about me, or Ethan, or you, or the little nut job, it's about finding Sheridan and the others," she said determinedly._

            Any comment that Hank was going to make was interrupted when the airplane hit the tarmac, and they got out of the plane.  "Hmmm," Hank mused, now we'll have to find the hotel they've been staying at.  Shouldn't take too long, this is a pretty small island."

            "Done!" Gwen chimed in, handing Hank a copy of printed-out instructions from the airport to their destination.  "I took the liberty of checking for a listing of hotels while I was getting the plane.  I figured it would save us some time when we got here.  There are only a few of them on the island, and this one's run by a woman named Liz Sanbourne, and I'd heard Sheridan mention her name."

            Hank smiled, impressed.  "I am definitely glad that you decided to help me."

            "You should be.  I wasn't a successful businesswoman with an M.B.A. _summa cum laude for nothing.  Now, let's get started on this."_

            The two of them hitched a ride to the hotel, which wasn't far at all from the tiny airport.  Arriving at the reception area of the well-kept but seemingly deserted resort, Hank rang the bell.  For a long moment, there was nothing, and then an attractive black woman rushed in to greet them.  "Hello, I'm Liz Sanbourne, the owner of this hotel.  I'm sorry about the wait, but we're a little short on help right now.  That doesn't mean that we can't provide you with top quality accommodations, though.  This hotel is open for business.  For now, anyway," she added bitterly under her breath.

            "Is the hotel in financial trouble?" Gwen asked sympathetically.

            "Well, it's just that St. Lisa's _is such an isolated place, and so close to Bermuda, which attracts all the tourists.  Plus, it doesn't help that I had to shut the place down a few weeks ago because my friend Brian was in trouble."_

            "Trouble?" both Hank and Gwen intoned at the same time.

            "Yes," she replied, still stinging at the memory.  "This girl he fell for, Diana, idiotically ran up a huge gambling debt, and Brian had to race to cancel it.  It almost killed him, but he didn't care and they went off to his home town so she could meet his family.  I am so furious with her!  I mean, I know I should feel sorry for her, since she's had amnesia since washing ashore here, and I did for a long time, but she was such a walking disaster area!  She couldn't do anything, kept almost drowning herself, and then got him into that mess.  In fact, she even tried to drive the racecar herself, when she couldn't even wait a table without spilling everything!"

            "Huh," Gwen reflected, "that doesn't sound like her at all!  Except for the waiting tables part."

            Liz eyed the two of them suspiciously.  "What do you mean by that?"

            Hank and Gwen looked at each other, as if trying to decide just how much they should tell Liz.  They had to be careful, but they needed all the information they could get, and Liz seemed to be as close to Antonio as they were to Luis and Sheridan, in which case she probably deserved to be informed of the situation at hand.  Finally, they nodded to each other in accord.

            Gwen was the first to speak.  "I have to confess, we're not actually looking for a place to stay.  We're from Harmony, and we know 'Brian' and your Diana too.  She's gotten her memory back."

            "Really!" Liz exclaimed.  "I _am happy for her, even if I am annoyed with what she's done.  Who is she, then?"_

            "Well, the really weird part is, she's from Harmony, too.  In fact, she's my best friend, and I want to thank you for taking care of her this whole time.  You've actually probably heard of her—your Diana is really Sheridan Crane."

            Liz gaped back at them slack-jawed, completely floored.  "Sheridan Crane!  You mean to tell me that one of the wealthiest and most famous women in the world was staying _here for months!  We thought at first that that might have been her, but then we got word that her body had been found and identified.  How can Diana possibly be Sheridan, then?"_

            "That's actually the part we can't figure out," Hank admitted.  "All we could come up with is that the tests done on the body they found must have been wrong."

            "So then, why would you two come all the way here just to tell me this?  Why wouldn't Brian and Di—Sheridan return or at least call me themselves?"

            "Unfortunately," Gwen said, "they seem to have disappeared, and we're trying to find out why."

            Liz looked as if she'd received a blow to the chest.  "Oh my God, what happened?!"

            Between the two of them, they eventually managed to get out the whole story, from Luis and Sheridan's past together to the abandoned car keys.  "So you see, we thought that if we talked to you, we might be able to find out if Sheridan and Antonio had made any enemies here," finished Hank.

            "I see.  Well, there's a lot about Brian's past that I don't know, but he has been having a lot of trouble with this Nick guy."

            "Nick?" asked Gwen.

            "Yeah," Liz frowned, looking even more worried than she had before.  "He's the reason Brian had to race.  From what I gathered, he's a big-time con artist, not to be messed with.  Apparently, Brian DID mess with him some years ago, and he's been looking to get his payback ever since.  He tricked your Sheridan into gambling all that money, and then forced Brian into a car race to pay it off.  He won all right, but the car exploded, and Brian almost died.  I'm pretty sure that Nick had rigged it, and even though the two of them are even now, Nick basically said that it wasn't over yet."

            Hank and Gwen exchanged troubled glances.  "I'd bet anything he has something to do with their disappearances.  He has a score to settle with Sheridan and Antonio, and Luis just happened to be there!"  Gwen exclaimed.

            "I'm sure you're right," Hank agreed.  "We'd better trace this lead.  Liz, what does he look like, and where did you last meet him?"

            Liz gave them the information, and added, "Anything you need, just let me know.  I don't want anything to happen to them."

            "Thanks for everything, and we will," Gwen promised.  "We'd really better get going now, to get to that racetrack and see what we can find."

            After they had left, Liz sighed.  "Oh Brian, what have you gotten yourself into now?"  She tried to get back to her work, but found that she couldn't concentrate.  After a little while, she gave up altogether and resolved to do her own search into the matter, hoping that maybe she could discover something that those two couldn't.  "In the meantime," she said to herself, "I just hope that they're okay."

*****

            "Okay" was not a word that Sheridan, Luis, or Antonio would have used to describe their situation.  After a few hours in the bare room they had been in, they had been handcuffed and transported God knows where, only to find themselves in a vast abandoned warehouse, where they'd been stashed for the past couple of days.  Then, they had all been indignantly tethered to an area near the center, and had been ungagged because "you could scream all you want and nobody'd hear you."  Ever since then, they had been attended to by a couple of lackeys, and had not caught of glimpse of Nick, and had had no explanation whatsoever.

            At least they could now talk to each other, though their conversation had mostly revolved around trying to figure out what the hell was going on.  Sheridan and Antonio had explained all about Nick to Luis, and the three had batted around theories about what he wanted with them, without really getting anywhere.  Conversation soon became intermittent, with long stretches of miserable silence.

            "It figures," Sheridan muttered absentmindedly.  "I return to Harmony and get my memory back, and then THIS happens.  What I wouldn't give for just a week, seven short days, where nothing disastrous or dramatic happens!  Is that too much too ask.  Honestly, I'm starting to think I'm cursed, and everyone around me gets sucked into it."

            "This isn't because of you," Luis replied, glaring at his brother.  "Antonio's the one who got mixed up with this guy.  It's HIS past coming back to haunt us all!"

            "It's not my fault, Luis!" Antonio seethed.  "I found out the guy was scamming people, and I stopped him!  You wouldn't have done any differently."

            Luis laughed scornfully.  "That's what you're _telling us, anyway.  What actually happened might have been entirely different."_

            "Are you accusing me of being crooked?" 

            "If the shoe fits," Luis answered coolly.  "You haven't exactly been on the straight and narrow with the family for all these years.  Who knows what you've been up to?"

            "Quit it, you two!" Sheridan cried, desperate to avoid another fight.  "Will you look at the spot we're in?!  We're being held captive for some unknown reason in an abandoned warehouse, for goodness sake!  We have to focus and stick together.  The last thing we need is to be fighting amongst ourselves right now!"

            Humbled by her words, the brothers apologized, and the silence resumed, during which each of them concentrated hard, trying to think of a way out, but none of them were able to come up with anything.  Just as Antonio was about to voice his frustration, Nick sauntered in, stopping just past where the tethers could reach.

            Smirking obnoxiously, Nick asked, "And how are my guests doing?  Are you finding your lodging to your satisfaction?"

            Antonio was in no mood for idle chitchat, especially with this guy.  "What are we doing here?!  We're even, Nick; I won the race fair and square, even if you did tamper with the car."

            "Prove it," replied Nick in an even tone.  All right, Brian O'Leary or 'Lopez-Fitzgerald' or whatever you've decided to call yourself now, I'll cut to the chase.  You're here because," he said, smirking even wider, "you're going to go to work for me."


	18. The Prosaically Named Chapter 18

            "What do you mean, I'm gonna work for you?" Antonio asked angrily.

            "Just that," answered Nick.  "I've got a really important job, for some very important clients.  Unfortunately, I need someone with an expertise in an area that you can't be beat in.  So, you're going to help me out."

            Antonio couldn't believe what he was hearing.  Forgetting for a second the vulnerable position that he was in, he laughed.  "And what makes you think that I'm just gonna say yes and go along with it?  I don't wanna get mixed up in any kind of scam, and we're even now, so you don't have that hanging over my head."

            Nick appeared unflustered at Antonio's refusal.  "I expected you to say something like that.  You are going to do exactly as I say because, if you don't," he said, eyeing Sheridan, "it's not going to be very pleasant for your fiancée."

            Both Luis and Antonio yelled "Bastard!" and unthinkingly lunged at the crook, only to be held back quite firmly by their chains.  Unable to do anything physically, they glared at Nick, while Sheridan stared fearfully, worried about both her own welfare and what Antonio was going to be forced to do.

            "Geesh, the temper you Irish Latinos have!" Nick declared, having previously discovered from the identification the other guy carried that this was Antonio's brother.  "Anyway, you have a choice: either take the job or we get rid of all three of you in a very creative way.  If, at any point, I think that you're going to sabotage the plan, turn me in, or simply skip off, I will call my associates remaining here and have your 'Diana' or 'Sheridan Crane' as she's turned out to be, and your brother instantly killed.  So, what'll it be?"

            Though Antonio's expression remained defiant, he knew that Nick had won.  He had to go through with Nick's scheme, no matter what he had to do.  While it was possible that Nick was bluffing, he wasn't willing to risk finding out; Luis he figured could take care of himself, but he couldn't let anything happen to Sheridan, whatever the price.  "Fine, I'll do it," he said, defeated.

            "Good.  I knew you'd come around, and see it my way.  We'll start before too long.  I have to finish clearing up a few kinks in the operation, so we'll come and get you when we need you.  In the meantime, please, make yourself comfortable and enjoy yourself."  Smirking confidently, Nick turned around and left.

            After a few moments, Sheridan tentatively asked, "Do you have any idea what he wants you to do?"

            "Not exactly, but he said it was an area that I'm the best in.  My God, I bet he wants me to sail a boat for him.  When it comes to navigating in dangerous situations, I'm hard to top.  I wonder how a boat fits into whatever he's doing."

            "Whatever it is, you can't go through with it, Antonio!" Sheridan insisted earnestly.  "It you were to get caught, it could destroy your life!"

            "And if I don't do it, you could lose your life!  I'll be careful, but I have to do it."

            Finally, Luis spoke up.  "As a cop, I have to say that you'll be a willing accomplice to whatever he's going to have you do, and you shouldn't comply."  Antonio looked at his brother in shock, and was about to protest, when Luis finished, "but as me, I swear to God, if you let anything happen to Sheridan I'll kill you myself."

            Despite the gravity of his predicament, Antonio couldn't help smiling at his brother.  "I'll remember that, Luis.  And you two had better take care of each other while I'm gone.  Well, I guess all we can do now is sit here and wait."

*****

            Gwen stood by anxiously as Hank attempted to intimidate a racecar mechanic into telling everything he knew.  They had arrived at the race track about half an hour ago, and had asked around until they were directed to the man who had worked on Brian O'Leary's vehicle.  It took a little coercion, but Hank finally able to get the man to admit that the car had been rigged by Nick.  When Hank asked where this Nick was now, though, the mechanic had claimed not to know, and no amount of threats was changing his story.  

            "Hank, you're wasting our time, I really don't think he knows anything,"  
Gwen yelled, not wanting to cause a big scene in the middle of the track.  Reluctantly, Hank loosened his hold, and the guy ran off as fast as he could.

            "Well, I hate to say it, but I think we've hit a dead end," Hank said, worried.  "I have no clue how we're gonna track this guy now, since we don't have any leads to talk to, or even a last name to go by!"

            "There's got to be _some way," Gwen insisted.  "There just has to be."  _

            However, as she had no ideas herself, the two just stood there, trying desperately to think of a next course of action.  Just as it really was beginning to look hopeless, a shifty voice called out, "So, you wanna know where Nick went?"

            Gwen and Hank looked back and forth frantically for the voice's source, eventually spotting a slimy looking man partially hidden in the shade of a building.  They approached him without haste, and Hank asked, "What did you say?"

            "I said, you wanna know where Nick went?" the guy smiled nastily, and continued.  "Because I can tell you."

            "Who _are you?" asked Gwen._

            "And why would you tell us?" Hank added.

            "The name's Stan, and that's all you need to know.  As for why I'm talking," his faced clouded over with anger, "we were supposed to be a team, but he got a big new job, and just left me here.  I've been dying to stick it to him."  Observing their skeptical looks, Stan added, "Hey, fine, don't listen to me, it's nothing to me, but do you have any other choice if you want to find him?"

            Both knowing they had no choice, they nodded, and Hank asked, "Fine, 'Stan.'  What is he now, and what is this 'job'?"

            "He didn't say exactly, but I know he's set up in Boston, and if he's rented or signed for anything, he'll have used the name Nicholas Creighton.  I hope you ruin his job real good."  With that, the guy took off, darting away before either of the two could ask any further questions.

            "Well," Hank sighed.  "I guess we're a little better off.  We know he's in Boston, or at least, he was in Boston, but how we're gonna find anything in that city is beyond me."

            "Not me," Gwen grinned.  "We have his alias, for goodness sake!  If you know the right people, and I do, we can find out all of his activities in no time.  We'll get back on the plane, and on the way to Logan, I'll make a few calls and get him traced."

            "Geesh, Gwen!" Hank exclaimed.  "Who exactly do you know, anyway?  I'm starting to feel like I'm in on this with a mafia boss."

            Gwen punched him in the arm good-humoredly.  "Very funny.  No, Hank, it's just that my father has a lot of these connections for business purposes, and I learned how to get things done when I have to, and this is certainly a worthy cause and all, so I figured there's nothing wrong with taking advantage of it."

            "No, there's not, and you're amazing.  You know, I've never seen you like this before, and it suits you.  You certainly were born to be in business."

            "I did love it," Gwen remarked wistfully.  "The sense of purpose and accomplishment, knowing that I was really doing something on my own, it was wonderful."

            "What happened?  Why did you stop all of a sudden?"

            The sincere concern in Hank's question, and the bond that was developing due to their shared mission, prompted Gwen to be more open than she would have otherwise.  "I don't know really, it just sort of happened.  My life was so ordered and set, and then Ethan broke up with me.  Everything just fell into chaos, and I was too preoccupied by my anger and hurt.  I guess I kind of lost that confidence that I needed to do the job, and I put all of my time and energy into getting him back and destroying Theresa.  Mother didn't exactly encourage me, either.  I don't think she ever really approved of my working; she thought I should focus on becoming a society wife who only lifts a finger to head various committees."

            "You should go back to work, if you still can.  It'd be good for you."

            Gwen shrugged, unsure.  "I don't know anymore.  It's been so long, and now that I've lost that reputation…  Maybe I could still work for Hotchkiss Enterprises.  Father told me that since the Crane/Hotchkiss merger hasn't come off, if I hadn't just stopped he'd have passed the company onto me, but I don't know if I can just get back to that point.  Anyhow, enough about me; we've got a plane to catch."  Hank, knowing by her tone that she was done sharing, acquiesced, and the two prepared to head for Boston and do a search for Nick's activities.

*****     

            The next morning, the Bennett family was once again eating breakfast together.  Laura was just glad that the pancakes her mother had made weren't made out of asparagus or anything.  She considered herself fortunate to have gotten out of any further tomato soup cake by "mysteriously" developing an allergic reaction to tomatoes.  She didn't know if she could take another bizarre dish right now.

            After getting to know the family over the past few days, Laura had to admit that their warmth seemed to be mostly sincere, though she still thought they were definitely messed up, far more so than they must realize.  What's more, they didn't seem to totally understand why she was still remaining so distant from them.  After all, hadn't John formed an almost instant attachment to Grace, and seamlessly become a great brother for Jessica?  _Yeah,__ Laura thought__.  Jessica's got some strange complex where she always has to be okay and super cheerful about everything, and John's just a big loser.  Yet, somehow, I'M the weird one?!_

_            Idly, her thoughts turned from her siblings to Miguel.  At first, she hadn't been able to understand how he could put up with Charity's seemingly constant antics, as her cousin had in just a few days had several attacks like the first one she'd seen, each one worsening in intensity.  She'd initially been impressed by his patience and fortitude, but had then decided that he was so utterly dull that they deserved each other.  As she watched him eat breakfast, she realized that he'd eaten every single meal with the Bennetts, and was never apart from Charity.   She wondered briefly if he ever even saw his __actual family, or even knew where any of them were._

            Those thoughts were interrupted by the hurried entrance of the sandy-haired bespectacled geek she'd been introduced to as Reese.  She actually found him rather endearing, though she'd been a little creeped out when he had insisted that the eccentric old lady and her nephew next door were actually a witch and doll causing evil.  At this moment, though, Tabitha seemed the furthest thing from his mind.

            "Have you guys heard yet?" Reese gasped out, trying to catch his breath.

            "Heard what?" asked Miguel.

            "It's all over the papers, and even on the morning news!" he cried, and held out the early edition of the _Harmony Herald.  In huge bold type, it read, "POLICE CHIEF'S FORMER DAUGHTER NAMED CRANE HEIR."_

            "What?!" everyone at the table took turns shouting.

            "It's true!  Somehow my sweet Kay got herself named by Alistair as heir to the Crane fortune."

            "There's no way!" Laura exclaimed indignantly.  "It was always made perfectly clear to all of us girls that we wouldn't even be able to get jobs at Crane Enterprises, and yet somehow she shows up and almost instantly becomes the heir!  How the hell did she manage that?!"

            Ignoring Laura's outburst, Grace shook her head worriedly.  "I have no idea how any of this could have happened.  Sam and I have tried contacting her, but she won't talk to us.  I hope she's happy there."

            "Mama says she's settling in really well," Miguel offered, relaying the information that he knew.  He had meant to go see his best friend, but had been so busy with Charity that he just hadn't had the time.  "Apparently, she and Ivy bonded right away, and they've been really close this whole time."

            "Huh," Laura muttered so that no one else could hear her, hurt despite herself.  "Looks like she took my advice.  Why couldn't she have been like this before, with any of us?"

            Grace just couldn't believe Miguel's news.  "We raised her her entire life, and she just goes over to Ivy and the Cranes? I thought I was always there for her when she needed me, but she must've been so angry and hurt to just turn her back on the family like this.  Reese, have you talked with her?"

            "No," he admitted with a sadness in his voice that made Laura's heart go out to him.  "I keep trying, but I just can't get through.  It almost seems like she doesn't want to see me, but I know what it is: the Cranes are keeping us apart, not wanting her to be involved with a local kid."

            "Yeah, Reese, I'm sure that's it," Jessica replied in a tone that convinced Laura that her sister didn't believe that for a second.  There was something else though, something that made Laura sure that pity wasn't all Jessica was feeling at the moment.

            "It has to be, but I'm not worried," Reese asserted.  "We love each other, and her new family can't come between us.  We won't let it."

            After staying for a couple pancakes, Reese left, and the family got up from the table, but not before Charity had yet another premonition about a rising evil, this time accompanied by Grace having the unshakeable feeling that they were "in terrible danger."  Laura, hoping that such crazy behavior wasn't genetic, followed Jessica up to their room, and grabbed her as she was about to go in.

            "You like him," she stated frankly, not mincing words.

            "Who?"

            "Ewan McGregor, he's soooo cute!" Laura replied sarcastically.  "Reese, of course."

            Jessica appeared to be completely mortified.  "H-how'd you know?  I haven't told anybody!"

            "Simple observation.  You looked at him like a typical girl with a crush.  The question is, if you like him, why don't you do something about it?"

            "Because he's in love with Kay.  You saw the way he was at breakfast.  He adores her," she said glumly.

            "But she doesn't feel the same way about him?"

            "Gee, you really have figured it all out, haven't you?  No, she doesn't, and she never thinks of him as anything but a nuisance.  Kay's just been pretending to go out with him while she secretly went after Miguel."

            "Hmm, she was that desperate for _Miguel?  I was starting to get a lot of respect for that girl, but I now I don't know."_

            "Hey!" Jessica cried.  "He is my friend, you know."

            "Sorry, it just slipped.  The point is, there's no reason for you not to go for it.  It's not even like you're being loyal to her, since you know she doesn't care.  Maybe you should let him find out, and you can be there for him."

            "I couldn't do that!" Jessica protested vigorously.  "He'd be so hurt!"

            "He's going to eventually figure it out," Laura argued practically.  "The sooner he does find out, the less he's going to feel like an idiot.  You'd only be doing him a favor."

            Jessica thought about it for a second, but then looked defeated.  "It wouldn't do any good.  He doesn't like me back."

            "Talk about defeating yourself before you even begin!" Laura yelled, frustrated.  Look, I'm trying to help you, because I like you the best of anyone in this family, but you have got to learn to stick up for yourself!  It's like you've got some kind of martyr complex, always just accepting anything that might happen to you so that everyone else feels okay.  For example, it's okay if you you're not happy and cheerful about my being your sister, especially after all these other siblings that kept turning up for you, not to mention losing one that you grew up with.  Honestly, I'm not too thrilled about being here, either.  It's nothing against you or anyone else, but I want my old life back, and there's nothing wrong with wanting yours back too.  And you don't just have to sit quietly in the shadows, either.  For your own good, you _need to give this a try.  Besides, I think you'd make a cute couple," Laura added, hoping to soften what she knew had been fairly harsh words, and to make it clear that her intent wasn't to cut her sister down, but to get her to take charge of her life._

            Thinking it over, Jessica finally came to a decision.  "You're right, Laura.  I have been acting like you said.  I'd like to tell Reese how I feel, but I'm not sure if I can work up the nerve."

            Grateful for a project that could take her mind off of her own problems, Laura smiled happily.  "Now, _I can help you with that."  With that, they went into the room they were sharing, where Laura attempted to give her a crash course in self-assertion._

*****

            At this same time, Kay and Ivy were sitting in the main downstairs living room drinking some morning coffee, trying to look as normal as possible.  After Kay got back to the library yesterday, she had told David and Ivy about her new position as Crane heir, adding that it would give her less time to research a way to fix Ivy, but much more authority to do as she pleased.  David had eventually left, and Kay had gone over everything she could think of with Ivy.  Luckily, the press was being kept at bay, and Kay would have later have time to work on it, hopefully managing to get to Tabitha's house to solicit help from the witch.

            "See, Mom, it's all going to work out just fine.  As long as we don't blow your cover, we can get through this."

            Right after she said this, a smug-looking Theresa strolled into the room, smiling a sunny smile.  "Good morning, Kay.  Ivy, would you like some help packing?"

            "What do you mean, 'packing'?" Ivy asked cautiously.

            "As of right now, you don't live here any more.  I've decided to have you evicted."

            Ivy was horrified.  "What?!"

            Kay, though shocked, retained her composure.  "What are you talking about?  My mom doesn't have anywhere else to go!"

            "That's kind of the idea," Theresa replied in a whisper, leaning in confidentially towards Ivy.  "It'll be interesting to see just how long you last out there."

            Kay couldn't believe what Theresa was trying to pull.  "Look, there's absolutely no way you're casting my mother out of here!"

            Theresa smiled that slightly nutty smile again.  "I'm Mrs. Crane, the lady of the house."

            Kay laughed derisively.  "C'mon, Theresa, haven't you heard the big news?  It's in the papers and everything, and I figured you'd find out from my father or Alistair."

            For the first time since coming in, Theresa actually looked worried.  "No, I haven't looked at any papers, or spoken to either of them."

            Kay knew that she had won, and found that she enjoyed the feeling of watching her adversary squirm.  "Well, Theresa, you see, you may be Mrs. Crane with all of the privileges that go with that title, but as of yesterday I'M the Crane heir, and I'm afraid that that position outranks yours by quite a bit.  Seeing as how I want my mother here, you have no power to make her leave."

            Theresa raged, absolutely furious.  But that can't be!  I'm Mrs. Crane, I have the power!"  

            "We've already been through this.  God, you ARE delusional!  Can't you see?  You have no power that somebody else, namely my grandfather, doesn't give you explicitly.  Granted, that's also true for me right now, but it won't always be that way, and in the meantime, I have higher priority and Alistair certainly won't let you throw out his heir's mother."

            Theresa still refused to admit total defeat.  "I'm not giving up this easily, not after what she's done to me.  How can you defend her like this, after all she's done to your family?  We should be on the same side.  You were raised a Bennett, Kay; I mean, we even used to play together!"

            "Things change.  My mom here IS my family.  I'm not a Bennett, I'm a Crane, and now, _you're my wicked stepmother."  _

            After watching her sputter for a minute, Kay added, "Look, I don't want to set out to make enemies with you, but if you keep on trying this sort of thing I will.  We've always gotten along, and I'm sorry about Ethan, but you'd better just give up on your vendetta."

            Not willing to hear this, Theresa flounced out of the room, muttering, "It's not over.  I won't let it be over!" under her breath.

            As soon as they were alone, Kay flopped down onto the sofa, slightly drained from the encounter.  "Can you believe her?!  Who does she think she is, thinking she can go up against us and actually win?"

            "She's justified in hating me so much, Kay," Ivy admitted quietly.  "Yesterday, while you had that conference with Alistair, I found some things out, and you'd be horrified to know what I've done to her."  She couldn't quite bring herself to tell her daughter that the mother she knew was essentially a murderer, when the girl had developed such a devotion to her.

            "I'm sure you had a perfectly good reason when you did whatever you did.  You were justified in hating her, too.  She has caused you a lot of pain, and I know that you haven't trusted her since it must've been her fault that your secret got leaked to the tabloids."

            "That's no excuse for what I did to her, believe me.  And I've done many other awful things, according to what I've heard.  It's no wonder everyone in this time hates me."

            "That's **not true," Kay insisted emphatically, reaching out for Ivy's hand.  "I love you, and I'm sorry I got you into this mess, but it's going to be okay.  Now that I'm the heir, we're free and clear; nobody will be able to touch us while we figure this out."**

*****

            Pilar stood in the foyer, totally perplexed about the conversation she had just heard.  She had been going about her business by cleaning the foyer, still working as the head housekeeper, since she had refused to give up her job like Theresa had begged, preferring honest work to luxury purchased with her daughter's misery.  She had heard her daughter's voice in the other room and, curious, had listened to the tail end of Theresa's argument with Kay, and most of the ensuing conversation between Kay and Ivy.

            The exchange had definitely been odd, with both of them saying unaccountable things.  What "mess" had Kay gotten Ivy into, and why was Ivy suddenly acting so remorseful about everything?  She seemed truly sorry about what she had done to Theresa, and even more strange, had talked of having "heard" and "found out" about her actions.  On top of this, Ivy had acted downright bizarrely when she had run into her in the library the day before, not like her usual self at all; in fact, if Pilar hadn't known better, she would have said that she was acting like her old self, the person she had become friends with all those years ago.  All of these facts together convinced Ivy that something wasn't right in the Crane household, and she had previously vowed to keep close tabs on Ivy in order to protect her family.

            "Oh, Ivy," Pilar whispered to herself, shaking her head.  "I know there's something strange going on here, and that Kay is involved.  I don't know what, 'old friend,' but I'm going to find out."


	19. The Prosaically Named Chapter 19

            The next week and a half proved to be relatively uneventful, at least by Harmony standards.  Gwen and Hank made slow but sure progress tracking Nick's activities, moving ever closer to determining Luis, Sheridan, and Antonio's whereabouts, while the trio remained tied up in the warehouse, knowing that, at any minute, Antonio could be forced to begin whatever it was that he had to do.  Laura and Jessica worked on a plan for Reese, which was largely hampered because Jessica just couldn't agree to any time or way in which to tell him how she felt, causing Laura more than a little frustration.  

            At the mansion, Theresa and Phyllis began discussing a plan to bring about Ivy and Rebecca's downfall, though Alistair's shocking decision to name Kay as his heir had thrown a seemingly insoluble monkey wrench into their schemes for Ivy.  Rebecca continued to stay at the mansion, mainly because nobody with any authority had thought to throw her out.  Ethan remained at the estate at well, delighted that, as the elder brother to the Crane heir, he could feel useful again by giving Kay some pointers about the industry.  He had also made the journey to the Bennett house several times to check on Laura.  Like the other two Crane girls, Laura had always been resentful and ambivalent towards Ethan, but now she was grateful for him not only because he provided a modicum of consistency in her life simply by still being her half-brother even though everything else had changed, but also because he was the one other person in the world who could possibly understand how she felt at having her entire life taken away from her in one fell swoop.  Pilar miraculously avoided a nervous breakdown as she performed her usual duties, worried about her missing sons, helped to look after her grandson, consoled her daughter, and attempted, so far in vain, to discover what was going on with Ivy and Kay.  Finally, as the lessons that Kay was to be given from both private tutors officially and Cassandra in secret had not yet begun, she had been basically left alone apart from a couple press conferences.  Tabitha had given her every book that might prove useful, and she poured over them all, thus far without success, while Ivy continued to have difficulties adjusting to modern life.

*****

            "What on earth is _that?" Ivy asked, perplexed, as Kay sat a small, thin, silver rectangular box made out of plastic down on the desk in her room.  They both had spent a great deal of time in Kay's room, both to be left undisturbed while they searched for a reversal, and so that Ivy could keep a low profile in her condition._

            "It's just a laptop.  I asked my grandfather for one, figuring it would be able to keep track of any notes I take on those books easier than writing them out by hand," Kay replied offhandedly as she powered the machine up.  Then, remembering that Ivy had come from the modern technological equivalent of the Stone Age, she added, "It's a computer.  Don't you have them in your time?"

            "Oh, I've seen them, but not like this," she replied in amazement as the Windows screen appeared.  "They had a few at my college, but they were so big and bulky and just displayed a black screen!"

            "Technology's come a long way, Mom.  These are really common, and there are even some now that can fit in the palm of your hand.  If you're here much longer, I should probably teach you how it works, since it would seem really weird if you had no idea how to use one all of a sudden."

            "Is it really looking that hopeless, then?" Ivy asked uneasily, having grown more and more afraid every day that she would be trapped in this body forever.

            Looking determined, Kay shook her head resolutely.  "It's not hopeless, and I'm nowhere near giving up yet.  Tabitha said that this would take a while, so there's no reason for us to panic yet.  It's going to be okay, because I'm going to make it that way."

            Having said that, Kay shifted her attention back to the tattered yellow scroll that she had been reading carefully.  After about ten minutes, she jerked her head up with a triumphant, "Hah!"

            "Did you find something?" asked Ivy, her features lit up with tentative hope.

            "I've still got a ways to go, but it's a start," Kay explained.  "This scroll describes some individual accounts of various magic spells, their side-effects, and sometimes their reversals; case studies, if you will.  Well, one case mentioned is a wizard in seventeenth century Wales who accidentally got his uncle into the situation you're in now.  This account gives us some information on exactly how the spell functions.  According to this scroll, what the spell actually did was makes an exact copy of everything that makes you who you are: your memory, intellect, soul, you get the picture.  It transported the copy into the future, which is good because that means that we didn't screw up the past or anything, since you still went through your life just as you were supposed to.  The present you meanwhile is stuck in some sort of limbo, disembodied and in a state of suspended animation, unable to sense anything.  That's a HUGE relief, because it means that she wasn't obliterated when you were transported here.  If that had been the case, there wouldn't have been anything that we could've done.  The other you just would've been gone forever."

            "Well, what _can we do now?  Does it say what that wizard did?"_

            "Unfortunately, it doesn't point to a specific spell, and worse, it says that very few books containing the spell were copied, and nobody knows where those books are.  What it does say is that the incantation he used called the uncle's soul out of its holding pattern, and anchored it back into his body.  Some residue unavoidably remained of the inhabiting essence, but his uncle was mostly fixed."

            Ivy gulped, afraid of the implications of what thought she understood her daughter's words to mean.  "So, does that mean that I'll never get to go back, ever, because a version of me is already at her correct place in time?  Then, I'll be trapped here until you find the spell, and then I as myself will basically cease to exist?"

            Kay didn't quite know what to say.  "Not exactly.  The reversal won't erase you completely; a part of you will remain."

            "So, I'll be a 'residue'?" Ivy protested, panic rising in her voice.  "Bits of leftovers, here and there, stuck onto this other person, because that's who your mother really is, when it comes right down to it."

            Kay didn't have an answer, her voice choked by an overpowering feeling of guilt as she realized the magnitude of the sacrifice that she was asking of Ivy.  Kay would get her mother back, and things would be back in their right order, or mostly anyway, but the person in front of her would indeed be destroyed in any substantial sense.  Although that was right in an abstract sense, since this person is a duplicate that should not exist in this time and place, the effect from Ivy's point of view was horrible.  It had been Kay's doing, not hers, and now this Ivy would pay for it with what was really her life.  Confused and unable to offer an argument, Kay simply said, "As I said before, I'm so sorry for all of this.  Also, it's not like we can do this right now or even anytime soon.  All we know is that there IS a reversal of sorts, but as for what it is or even where to look for it, we've got a total blank.  No choices have to be made right now."

            The two sat awkwardly in silence for several long moments, until Phyllis came in, and noticing their melancholy, remarked, "Well, you two certainly look depressed today!"  Privately, she thought that she'd better relay this observation to both Pilar and Theresa, as further proof that something fishy was going on.

            "What is it, Phyllis?" Kay asked impatiently, wanting to be left alone again.

            "Mr. Alistair Crane wants me to inform you that he has decided to throw a party at the mansion tomorrow night, in honor of 'your brilliant entrance into the family and new position as Crane heir.'  He says that many important persons will be there, but in acknowledgment of your roots, he has invited the entire town as well."

            "Huh, that's odd," mused Kay.  "I wonder why he'd do that.  Anyway, thanks for the information, Phyllis.  You may go now."

            "Your welcome, Miss," Phyllis said, and she left, privately intending to eavesdrop for a minute or two and see what they would say.  

            Kay sighed.  "Well, Mom, it looks like you're gonna have to play this role in a formal situation.  It'll be seen as very odd if you don't attend a party in honor of your own daughter."

            "Oh, just what I need!" Ivy groaned, her larger fears temporarily forgotten as she thought of all the people she'd have to talk to.  "How will I ever be able to keep it up over an entire evening?"

            "I know you'll pull through; I've got faith in you.  Oh God, I'm going to have to see everybody!  My old family, friends, everybody, and it'll be so strange!  One thing's for sure: tomorrow is not going to be a dull night, not that a Crane party ever is."

*****

            "Has everything been arranged?" Cassandra questioned anxiously as she visited Alistair yet again.  "It's absolutely essential that you've set it all up properly."

            "Relax," Alistair groaned, having grown incredibly sick of being pushed around in such a manner, though he knew that he could do nothing about it.  "I'm not Julian, and I can handle something like this without any trouble.  The invitations are all out, and I've hired all the needed people to prepare for the party.  As to why you've insisted on my throwing this bash, I still have no idea whatsoever."

            "I'm in shock, Alistair!" Cassandra declared with a feigned innocence.  "You surely don't think that the occasion of your granddaughter's ascendance to the rank of Crane Heir doesn't deserve some sort of recognition!"

            "I never said that," Alistair countered.  "It's only proper to present her formally to the world into which she's entering.  My issue is why you've insisted upon inviting all the locals.  They've caused a great deal of trouble at previous gatherings, and it's certainly not like you've ever had any sort of feeling for the great unwashed, except perhaps as a tasty snack."

            Cassandra smiled secretively, as was her habit when chatting with Alistair.  "It's all part of my grand plan, which I don't wish to share at the moment.  For the present, it is sufficient to say that I have looked into our Kay's past, and a meeting with her former family and acquaintances at this time, if influenced properly, could definitely be played to my advantage."

*****

            Gwen and Hank stood in front of a dilapidated warehouse just outside of Boston, surrounded by various abandoned factories and truck yards.  Their investigation had led them to this building, and they hoped fervently that this would not prove to be a dead end.

            "So, what, do we just go in and see if we can find anything in here?" Gwen asked, not sure what to do now that they had finally arrived at what seemed like their final destination.

            "Ordinarily, I'd say no, since we have no idea who or what is in there, but we don't really have any other alternative, and we haven't gone through all of this just to give up now that we're here.  We'd better stick close by, and remain as quiet and alert as possible.  That alright with you?"

            Nodding nervously, Gwen agreed, and the two of them walked up to the old rusty door that formed the entryway.  Gingerly, Hank turned the handle and opened the door, and the two flinched as it emitted a loud squeak.  Knowing that it was now or never, they went in and began exploring the place.

            They proceeded uneventfully, Hank walking in front, through several large darkened rooms, until Hank silently motioned for Gwen to go no further.  Listening intently, Gwen could faintly make out two distinct voices seeming to emanate from the room in front of them.

            "This isn't fair," complained the first voice.  "We've got the worst job in this whole scam.  How come we've got to babysit those two while everyone else has an actual part to play?

            "Don't be an idiot," ordered another voice.  "Somebody has to do it: part of the plan hinges on someone being here to hold them captive and get rid of them if Brian should double cross us.  Besides, think of it this way: we can just sit there and do absolutely nothing, avoiding all of the dangerous work, and we get equal pay with everybody else."

            "So Nick tells us, anyway.  With us both stuck here, what's to keep him from skipping off with our share of the money, and leaving us high and dry?"

            "Ah, you worry too much.  Why can't you just—"

            But Gwen did not here the rest of what the guy was saying, because at that exact moment a huge rat scurried right up to her feet.  By biting her tongue, she managed to avoid screaming, but could not help giving it a swift kick, which caused it to run off, but not before screeching loudly.  Gwen cursed silently, and prayed that the two guys hadn't heard it.

            Apparently, her prayers hadn't been answered, because the first voice said, "Hey, did you hear that?  Sounds like someone's snooping around.  We'd better go check it out."

            "They're coming over here!" Gwen whispered urgently.  "What do we do now?"

            "There's nothing else for it," Hank replied, surprisingly calm, though he spoke as fast as he could.  "We're gonna have to fight them.  Sounds like there's only two of them, and we can jump 'em."

            There was no time for Gwen to reply, as two men appeared from around the corner, but before they could spot our duo, Hank nailed one right on the jaw and sent him out cold, while Gwen attempted to clip the other, but he saw her coming and easily deflected her punch, holding her so that she was rendered effectively powerless.  He grabbed the gun he had been wearing and began to take aim, but luckily for her, Hank saw what he was doing, and grabbed Gwen's assailant.  Before the crook could react, Hank threw him against the wall furiously, smiling in grim satisfaction as he hit the wall and was also knocked unconscious.

            "Hank, I—I don't know what to say!  You were amazing!" Gwen gasped, as soon as she had had time to register precisely what had happened.

            Hank looked uncomfortable, and modestly replied, "It wasn't anything, Gwen, you were just in a bit of a spot, and I got the guy."

            "It was more than that!  He was about to kill me, and I couldn't even move!  If you hadn't gotten to him when you did…  Well, you certainly saved my life!"

            "Don't mention it," Hank insisted, turning slightly red.  "It was well worth saving, and we're supposed to be looking out for each other right now.  We'd better get going, it sounds like they've got at least two of them here, and we don't know how long we've got until these guys wake up."

            After stopping to disarm the unconscious thugs, Hank and Gwen continued to explore the warehouse.  It wasn't long until they came upon the central room, which appeared to be lit up.  They went in, and in the middle of the room found Luis and Sheridan both tied up.  The captive couple looked up in shock to see Hank and Gwen, of all people, standing before them!

            "Hank!  Gwen!" Sheridan shouted, incredulous with delight.  "What are you doing here?!"

            "Yeah," added Luis, smiling widely.  "How'd you two ever manage to find us in here?"

            "Long story," replied Gwen.  "Thank God you're okay; we've been worrying that by the time we found you, it'd be too late.  We'll tell you the whole story later, but the short version is that Hank here figured out that you'd been kidnapped almost immediately, and we've been tracking you ever since."

            "And we never would've succeeded if it wasn't for Gwen here," Hank beamed, throwing Gwen a look of unabashed admiration.  "She was incredible, knowing how to go about tracking Nick's whereabouts and arranging everything."

            "You weren't so bad yourself!" Gwen laughed.  "He drilled people for information, and even saved my life a few minutes ago, by knocking out a guy who almost shot me!" Gwen explained for Luis and Sheridan's benefit.

            Sheridan stared, amazed at their great luck, and also a little surprised at how amazingly well Gwen and Hank seemed to be getting along.  Sheridan had been gone a long time since the boat explosion, but she clearly remembered listening to her best friend complain about that obnoxious, nosy Hank who'd been pestering her lately.  Now, the two of them acted quite cozy, and Sheridan couldn't help but wonder if something was developing, a romance perhaps in its earliest stages; for Gwen's sake, after the Ethan breakup, Sheridan certainly hoped so.  She remembered how it'd been with her and Luis, mutual hatred slowly giving way to love…

            But she forcefully stopped that thought.  She was with Antonio now, though she had found that she had had to remind herself of that fact more and more frequently every day.  She felt guilty having these feelings when Antonio had just yesterday been taken away, to do whatever it was that Nick wanted done, but she couldn't help it, and now that Luis was there and Antonio wasn't—

            Sheridan's stream of consciousness was instantly broken off when Hank asked where Antonio was.  "I'm afraid you were too late to find him here," Sheridan said angrily.  "That Nick guy is pulling some sort of operation, and he's forcing Antonio to work with him on it."

            "Yeah," said Luis, gritting his teeth at this unwelcome feeling of helplessness.  "He left a couple guys to guard us, and told Antonio that if he left or sabotaged the scam, he'd have them kill Sheridan and me instantly.  Thing is, as long as he doesn't know that we've been rescued, he'll have no choice but to do exactly as Nick says, and we have no clue where he is or what they're doing, though Antonio thought they might want his help navigating a boat of some kind."

            "Oh, great!" muttered Gwen.  "I'd thought for a second that we had actually come to the end of all this, and now we have to track down Antonio as well."

            "Well," said Hank placidly, "you can continue to use your connections to find out where Nick has been, and I bet those two lowlifes have a good idea of the master plan here.  We can swing it."

            Hank and Gwen then promptly untied Sheridan and Luis.  They waited several moments while the two got used to standing up properly, and Hank finally said, "Alright, we'll tie the crooks up, wake them up again, and drill them for everything they know."

            "Right," agreed Luis.  "And then, after we get Gwen and Sheridan safely back, you and I will set off on the mission."

            "Excuse me!" yelled both Sheridan and Gwen, almost in perfect unison.

            "There is NO way I'm being left out of this now!" Gwen protested, irked by Luis' presumption.  "I started out on this, and I'm going to see it through to the end.  Anyway, you need me; you heard Hank say that he couldn't have got this far without my knowledge of how to get things done."

            Luis looked decidedly uncomfortable.  He hadn't meant to be sexist, but his natural sense of chivalry had caused him to speak without thinking.  "I'm sorry, Gwen, I, uh—"

            But before he could come up with an actual response, Sheridan cut him off.  "I'm coming along too, Luis, and you'll just have to deal with it."

            This time, Luis was adamant.  "No.  I don't want to give you orders, but it'll be much too dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt.  I couldn't stand it again."

            "Look," Sheridan glared.  "Antonio's in trouble, and I know this is painful for you, but he's my fiancé.  Part of the reason he's in this mess is because he can't risk my getting hurt, and the least I can do now is to do the same for him.  I've spent the past year acting like a simpering, helpless fool, but I'm Sheridan now, not Diana, and I want to actually DO something, not just sit back and cry for help.  Besides, the way things have been going the past few years, I'm not totally convinced that staying home in Harmony is any safer than chasing after a master crook on a top secret score."

            Knowing that he couldn't fight her for long, Luis relented, even smiling a little.  "Fine, Sheridan.  You always were as stubborn as a mule, and I guess you do have a couple good points there."

            "Hey guys, if we're all decided that we're all coming along, we'd better hurry, Hank warned anxiously.  "We don't want them waking up before we get back, and we've already wasted a lot of time talking."  Nobody had any objections of any sort, so they briskly left the room, each hoping that the unconscious thugs would give them some valuable information about Nick, Antonio, and the scheme, whatever it was.

(A/N: Yes, I know, many of you are groaning at yet another Crane party.  But really, isn't the fact that there will ALWAYS be a party at the Crane mansion periodically one of the things we really love about the show?  I mean, it's certainly one of the things I love.  For me, it just wouldn't be _Passions if all the characters, no matter how irrational their presence would be, did not show up at the mansion in formal wear every once in a while.  So, I want to keep the tradition alive in my writing.  In addition, as most of you know, Natalie Zea will soon be leaving the show, to be replaced by original Gwen Liza Huber.  As I didn't watch the show when she was on, I cannot determine exactly how I feel about this, but I do know that I will miss Ms. Zea, who always brought to Gwen a sense that she had integrity and brains no matter what the writers made her do.  For the purposes of this story, readers should continue to imagine her as Gwen.  Also, I definitely envision the Ethan of this story as Travis Schuldt.  No offense to the actor, but the new guy just ISN'T Ethan, as nobody could make Ethan so endearing while remaining incredibly dense like Mr. Schuldt could.)_


	20. The Prosaically Named Chapter 20

            The next night found all of Harmony (except for the missing Lopez-Fitzgeralds, Sheridan, Hank, and Gwen, for obvious reasons) turning out for the gala party at the Crane mansion.  All of the many residents of the mansion were there, of course, as were Timmy and Tabitha, as Tabitha was certainly not about to miss being at ground zero on such a potentially explosive occasion.  Sam and Grace went, eager for a chance to talk to Kay, and Jessica and Charity, and therefore Miguel, went with them.  Laura was unsure about going at first, feeling strange to say the least about setting foot in the Crane mansion, but in the end could not give up the opportunity to size up for herself the girl who had taken her place.  Reese jumped at the chance to see his Kay again and explain to her that he had been trying everything he could think of to get in touch with her.  David and John also showed up, John because his "mother" was going to be there, and David because he was ordered by Kay to be present in case an awkward situation with Ivy arose.  The Russells and Chad all attended as well, with Simone still just as furious and violent as ever, to the point that Whitney and Chad's relationship was being put under an even bigger strain than before.  Upon arriving, TC ranted to anybody who'd listen about how much he hated the evil Cranes and their evil house, leaving everybody around him too afraid to ask why he had come tonight if he detested the place so much.

*****

            Kay finally broke free from the endless crowd of socialites congratulating her, and stood by herself, trying to clear her mind.  She had been introduced to so many people whose names she had no hope of remembering, and the reality of becoming the Crane heir was finally hitting her full force.  She sipped her glass of champagne, wondering if she was really cut out for the job.

            It was then that she saw them.  About fifteen feet from her, Miguel and Charity were in each others arms, dancing blissfully, completely unaware that anybody else was present.  She hadn't forgotten about her feelings for Miguel for a second, but in the time since she had moved into mansion, she had been so busy getting adjusted to her new home, nursing her resentment towards the Bennetts, bonding with Ivy and then trying to reverse the spell, and finally dealing with her new rank that she had not had much time to dwell on him.  When she finally saw him again, though, the pain that had been with her ever since he had fallen for Charity had returned full force, becoming an almost physical ache.  She couldn't bear to watch them, but couldn't bring herself to look away.

            After a few minutes, the dance ended, and the couple looked around, noticing Kay.  They approached her, completely oblivious to the pained expression on her face.

            Miguel was the first to speak.  "Well, congratulations, Kay, at getting all of this, though I can't imagine what everything that happened was like for you.  I know I haven't seen you since it all came out, but I want you to know I'll always think of you as my pal, and if it wasn't for the fact that Charity has been having a lot of premonitions since getting out of the hospital, I would've definitely come to see you before now."

            "Kay," Charity said earnestly.  "I can't believe that you're not really my cousin.  Still, you were part of the family that I found after my mom died, and I'll always think of you that way."

            "That's really sweet, Kay said quickly.  "Thank you both.  Now, I'm sorry, but I just saw some people that I really need to talk to."  Turning around, Kay walked purposefully away, leaving Miguel and Charity looking after her quizzically for a minute before resuming their usual cooing at each other.  Thinking that she was going to be sick, Kay drained the rest of her drink in one gulp and began looking for something, anything, to take her mind off of Miguel and Charity.  

*****

            In the foyer of the mansion, Ivy had found herself deep into an argument with Rebecca Hotchkiss, who had accosted her with a plan to bring down Theresa once and for all.  Ivy hadn't really seen her in her time at the mansion, and she was absolutely appalled a Rebecca's dress.   Now, Ivy didn't know much about the fashion standards of the early twenty-first century, but somehow she was pretty sure that an ultra low-cut hot pink polka-dotted gown with a zebra print wrap was NOT the look du jour.  _I really shouldn't be surprised, Ivy reflected silently.  __She never **did have any taste whatsoever.**_

            "Can't you just see it, Ivy?" asked Rebecca excitedly.  "We just poke her with this," Rebecca said, holding up a small syringe, "and it's _adios, Evita.  The best part is that it'll look like she came down with a case of e coli after eating a bad taco or something.  No one will ever think to suspect us!"_

            "Absolutely not!" cried Ivy in shock at the horror of her old friend's suggestion.  "I don't want to kill the girl!"

            "And why not?" Rebecca argued.  "You were perfectly willing to go through with the execution plan.  I don't see why this is any different."

            Ivy recoiled inwardly; she'd been holding onto the slight hope that Theresa had been wrong about her, but Rebecca's words were the final confirmation: she HAD become a murderer.  Knowing that she had to give Rebecca a reasonable answer, she said, "Yes, I know I went along with that, but when I thought she was dead, I realized how immoral our scheme had been.  I—I think that we should be grateful that we don't have her blood on our hands, and forget about the whole business, or at least find another way to get rid of her threat."

            Ivy prayed that Rebecca would believe her excuse, and cringed when the redhead scoffed.  "Oh come on, Ivy, you want me to believe that you've gone and regrown your conscience now, after everything you've done?  I know why you're really saying this!"

            Irrationally terrified that Rebecca had somehow discerned who she really was, Ivy nervously asked, "What, Rebecca?  Why do you think I'm refusing?"

            "It's completely obvious!" Rebecca exclaimed triumphantly.  "Now that your daughter got herself named heir to the Crane fortune, and your lifestyle and place in this house is secured, you don't care whether or not Theresa has the title of Mrs. Crane!  To a certain extant, that's good, because it means I don't have to destroy you after Theresa's out of the picture, but that doesn't mean you can grow complacent about that little tart.  She and Ethan may be finished right now, but can you really be so sure that she'll keep her hooks out of your son forever?  No, mark my words, one day she'll go after him and try to ruin his life again.  I don't buy that sacrificial mother act she's been putting on for a minute.  Oh, if only my Gwennie had listened to me and gotten back together with him as soon as he and Theresa had broken up.  I wonder where she is right now," Rebecca added, her train of thought seemingly derailed.  "It's like she's just vanished, and I'm getting kind of worried, though she probably just went off somewhere by herself to sulk for a while.  Anyways, you'd do well not to turn your back on Theresa; we'll talk again later."

            Rebecca then mercifully pranced away, leaving Ivy enormously relieved.  She was thankful that she had managed not to blow her cover, though distressed about what Rebecca meant when she said they'd talk.  She wasn't left alone with her thoughts for long, though, because a girl of about Kay's age with reddish brown hair spotted Ivy and made her way towards her with more than a little hesitation.  "Well, hello, uh, Mrs. Crane," the girl said, with a timidity which Ivy could instantly tell was not a trait customary to her character.

            "Hello," Ivy answered, slightly perplexed.  "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name."  As she said this, she sincerely hoped that she was not supposed to know this girl.

            For a minute, the girl stared at her with an open mouth, as if trying to assess whether or not Ivy had been serious.  Upon realizing that she really had no idea whatsoever who she was, the girl laughed hysterically, as if trying not to break down completely.  "Y-you really don't even know who I am?  I know that I told you to just forget about patching things up, but I certainly thought that you'd still be able to recognize me."

            Ivy had no idea what to say.  "Well, uh, you see, uh, uh—," she stammered, not knowing how to address her.

            "It's Laura, for your information.  You know, the girl you thought was your daughter for the past _eighteen years, until it turned out I'd been switched with this Kay! "_

            Knowing that she had made a huge slip-up, Ivy grappled for a response, but couldn't think one up.

            Upon seeing that Ivy had nothing to say to her, Laura continued.  "I always accepted the fact that I wasn't important to you, but it was bearable, knowing that my 'sisters' were in the same position, since it was painfully obvious that you only loved Ethan.  Still, did you have to just forget about me, to the point that it's like I never existed in your mind at all?  I mean, you'd probably even remember a maid who used to work here, and you can't even remember me?!  I'm sorry, but I have to go now."

            Laura walked off as fast as she could, leaving Ivy feeling even worse than she had before.  It was much more than just partially blowing her cover that was upsetting her, though; she felt horrible at having caused Laura to think that the woman who had been her mother growing up had utterly forgotten her, and her words had shed light on another of her future self's faults.  At the very least, she had comforted herself by believing that she had been a caring, if misguided mother.  She had had reason to believe that she had truly acted in what she thought had been her son's best interests, and the almost instantaneous close relationship she had obtained with Kay before the spell had spoken well of her in this respect.  Now, however, another picture had been painted in Ivy's mind: one of a bitter woman indulging her love child with Sam while neglecting her others for no other reason than that she despised their father.  It seemed that there was no quality in which she had not become utterly monstrous!

            For a second, Ivy again wished to go home again, when it hit her that, no matter what, she never would.  She would either remain trapped in this body forever, or she would be replaced by this future self.  At this point, she was at a complete loss as to which option was ultimately more attractive, though at the moment all she wanted was for this night to be over.

            Ivy pressed the proper buttons on her wheelchair's control panel and turned around, intending to look for Kay or David, only to find Pilar standing purposefully in front of her!

            "So, Mrs. Crane, you don't even recognize the girl who was raised as your daughter?  Even you aren't that callous.  Something very strange is going on with you, so would you like save us both some trouble and tell me what it is?"

*****

            Laura practically ran through the crowded rooms, afraid that she would begin crying.  _No, she commanded herself, forcing herself to stop and get herself together.  __I am not going to break down and cry over this!  Why should she care, anyway?  She had already cut Ivy out of her life, and they would very possibly never even see each other again.  What possible difference could Ivy's opinion of her, or lack thereof, make in her life now?_

            Indeed, why had she even gone over to speak to Ivy?  If she was completely honest with herself, Laura had to admit that a part of her wished that she had responded that day in the hospital when Ivy had tried to reach out to her; maybe then she wouldn't have felt so alone ever since.  Had she actually hoped to strike up some sort of relationship with her, jealous of the closeness that had apparently developed between her and Kay?

            _Well, there's no way that's going to happen now, Laura thought bitterly.  Ivy had sounded so sincere in the hospital, when she said she cared and loved her.  __Obviously, her love couldn't have been very deep if she couldn't even remember what I look like!  Laura laughed ruefully, angry with herself for having been fooled into thinking that maybe she actually did care so easily.  One thing was for certain: she certainly wouldn't let THAT happen to herself again!  _

            Laura would have liked to have been left alone with her thoughts for a while, but she was interrupted by the approach of the girl she recognized from newspapers as well as family photographs in the Bennett house as the now-famous Kay Crane.  Although she was not up to a meeting with the girl who had taken her life at the moment, she couldn't find a solid escape route, so she was stuck talking with her.

            "Hi, Laura," Kay greeted her.  "I'm Kay.  I've seen you in some snapshots I was looking through, and I just thought that with the really weird connection the two of us had, we probably should meet."

            "Oh, definitely," Laura agreed, privately thinking that she would have genuinely agreed at any time but this.  "I mean, we were raised in each other's families; we really should get to know each other, maybe even swap tips.  Although, it seems like you've mastered being a Crane more thoroughly in two weeks than I ever did in my entire life.  Getting named Crane heir, that was amazing!  How'd that happen?"

            "Honestly, Kay admitted, "I have no absolutely no idea!  I was just as shocked as anybody when Alistair named me his heir.  This is all completely insane right now." 

            "I can't even imagine what it must be like, and I was raised a Crane!  Although, it was pretty disorienting to wake up in a hospital bed and find out I was really the daughter of my half-brother's father and his wife."

            "Yeah, uh, speaking of which, how is everything for you over there?"

            "It's certainly interesting," Laura said, "Tomato soup cake, my new mom and Charity getting weird visions all over the place.  I can't say that I like being there or anything."

            "I know exactly what you mean," Kay assured her.  "I feel kinda bad.  I mean, I really got the better deal out of all this."

            Laura snorted, and replied, "Do you really think so?  You think that being a Crane is any better?"

            "Well, yeah.  I'm the heir to this huge fortune, and although Julian Crane is not the man I'd choose for a father, Ivy is such a great mother!  I feel sorry that you're stuck living with Grace Bennett."

            "Let me get this straight.  You're the Crane heir for reasons that you admit you don't fully understand, and we all know that when something like this happens in the Crane family, there's always a secret design behind it.  Furthermore, you actually consider having Ivy Crane as a mother to be one of the highlights of your experience here?"

            Kay shifted defensively.  "Yes, of course.  As soon as I got here, she did everything she could to help me adjust, and she was so warm and open and really cared about how I was doing.  We hit it off instantly."

            Laura couldn't believe this: how could Kay be so naïve?  "Yes, well, enjoy being her little pet while you can, because it's certainly not going to last for much longer."

            Kay's eyes narrowed as she looked back at Laura, disbelieving.  "What do you mean?  She loves me!"

            "She's really got you fooled, hasn't she?  Ivy Winthrop Crane doesn't really care about you at all.  She's doing all of this out of a guilty conscience because she must've been feeling like a bad mother lately, which she should.  Because of her guilt, she's decided to dote on you, but rest assured: as soon as this little whim of hers has passed, she'll drop you and go back to one of her schemes, and it'll be like you never existed."  Laura knew that she had dug too deep, but a combination of hurt and jealousy had driven her on.

            "I don't believe you," Kay said simply, too angry to add anything else.

            Laura laughed harshly.  "Then you're a fool.  She's been your mother for, what, two, maybe three weeks now?  Well, she was mine for eighteen years, and I think I know her a little better than you do.  Not once in my entire life can I remember her treating me or one of her other daughters with a quarter of the affection she treated Ethan, all because he was the son of a man she's obsessed with.  Someone like that doesn't have real feelings, and she's just using you to make herself feel better while she's on this mother kick.  It'll be a lot easier on you if you accept it now."

            "You're wrong," Kay whispered defiantly, and, clearly unwilling to continue the discussion, stormed off immediately.  Laura slightly remorseful about disillusioning her, but she also felt a certain catharsis at being able to voice all of that.  Shaking a bit, she willfully forced herself to appear as normal as possible, and, looking for a distraction, went to find Jessica and try to convince her to make a play for Reese.

*****

            Timmy stood happily, encircled by an ever-growing crowd of pretty young debutantes who found him absolutely delightful.  It was like a replay of the Valentine's Day dance at the youth center, with the girls practically fighting each other over a chance to dance with him!

            "Ladies, ladies!  There's no need to get violent.  The night's young, and Timmy has plenty of energy to dance with all of you."  He then danced with a series of girls, and would have kept it up for a good deal longer, had he not seen that Tabitha was watching him from a corner with an expectant expression on her face that could only mean that she wished to speak with him.

            "Timmy's very sorry, but he has to go now.  He had a wonderful time with all of you," he explained regretfully, and made his way over to his witch.

            "Well, Timmy, you certainly are quite the little Casanova tonight, you little rascal," Tabitha observed, not unamused.

            Timmy shrugged.  "Timmy can't help the effect he has on the women, Princess.  Anyway, Tabby knows Timmy's just having a little fun.  His heart belongs to sweet Charity, and nothing will ever change that."

            "Oh, why do you always have to bring up the brat?  You know I'll eventually have to destroy her, and I don't want you getting yourself hurt trying to save her again."

            The boy didn't flinch at Tabitha's words, but instead merely smiled knowingly.  "Timmy's Princess isn't going to destroy Charity.  Timmy knows that she'll turn good and end up helping people."

            Tabitha glowered at him.  "Now, will you get that silly notion out of your head once and for all?!  Just because I helped the powers of goodness once, to save you, doesn't mean that I'll up and stop being evil.  You can just forget about it."

            Timmy just grinned once again.  "Tabby can argue all she wants, but Timmy knows deep in his heart that she WILL turn good one day, and then we can help fight evil in Harmony, and Tabby can go to heaven just like all the other good people.  She won't hurt Charity, or anybody else."

            Tabitha laughed at his stubborn persistence.  "Honestly, sometimes I think that you _still have batting for brains, if you think that's going to happen.  Timmy, the reason I'm here is because I'm hoping to witness pain and suffering.  The combination of the complicated relationships of the guests, and wildcards like Ivy's condition and Cassandra's plotting are prime ingredients for explosions."_

            "Timmy's surprised that Tabby wants Cassandra to succeed in whatever it is she's doing!"  

            "Ultimately, Tim Tim, I don't.  However, I'm always well disposed towards a good blow-up, which is precisely what will most likely happen tonight."

            "What is she up to, anyway?  Timmy has seen her mingling with the guests, and she has to have something in mind."

            "I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Tabitha sighed.  "One thing's for certain, though; everything's being carefully engineered tonight, and it is all for Kay's 'benefit.'  Somehow, Cassandra is hoping that tonight's events will set her further down the path towards fulfilling her role as Cassandra's True Heir."

*****

            As Cassandra continued to make her way through the crowd of guests, she was becoming increasingly impatient, eager to set everything in motion.  She had researched Kay's past meticulously: her childhood, her relationship with her family, her various accomplishments, her ongoing crush on that Lopez-Fitzgerald, her friendships, and her nearly endless schemes.  Although Cassandra had not yet decided on what exactly her plan of action would be, she knew from experience that she would know the right catalyst when she saw it, and then everything else would just fall into place.

            Cassandra hoped that she would see it soon, though.  The throng of people gathered in such a small area were inflaming her vampiric senses and firing her bloodlust up to a nearly uncontrollable level.  While she could be present around those carrying her bloodline without a desire to feed, the scent of blood in all other humans always became overpowering before long.  Luckily, over the centuries she had learned to control that urge when the circumstances made a killing inconvenient; in fact, if she had been a young vampire, she might have spoiled everything tonight through recklessness.

            Just as she was beginning to suffer through the first inklings of nervousness, she spotted an angry-looking young girl standing near the wall all by herself glaring murderously at nobody in particular.  Cassandra instantly recognized her as Simone Russell, erstwhile best friend to Kay and current raging maniac.  _Hmm, she thought, __yes, this could definitely work!  Simone should be absolutely no trouble to manipulate, seeing as she reeked of a burning thirst for revenge, and she was definitely close enough to Kay to obtain the desired effect._

            Making sure that Kay would definitely be in a position to see her, Cassandra approached Simone, saying, "Excuse me, but you look as if you're dreadfully upset about something."

            Simone's faced scrunched up unattractively.  "Who are you?"

            Cassandra smiled secretively.  "Let's just say, I'm a friend."

            "Well, you're certainly not MY friend!" Simone retorted.

            "Alright, let's cut right to the chase," Cassandra replied, not in the mood to listen to any more of her pathetic excuse for banter.  "You want a chance to get back at them, don't you?"

            "Get back at who?" Simone asked apprehensively.

            "Your sister and her boyfriend, the guy who should be in love with you," the vampire answered casually.

            Now Simone stared at her incredulously.  "H-how do you—"

            "That's not important," Cassandra cut her off.  "The pain, the anger, it hasn't lessoned any, has it?"

            Simone's eyes darkened over, filling with fury.  "No, I mean, she was my sister, she wasn't supposed to do that to me!  It was always so clear cut: she gets to be the star tennis player, and I get Chad!  Now, she's got both and I've got nothing!  Chad and I are meant to be together, it's fate, and she's stolen him from me!  If it weren't for her he'd be mine right now!'

            Cassandra put up with the girl's tiresome tirade, letting her build herself up into a virtual frenzy.  "You're right; he _should be yours.  And he can be, if you're willing to take a little initiative."_

            Simone, it turned out, didn't need much manipulating.  "If I could think of something that would work, I'd do it.  It's just that nothing I can think of would do any good."

            "Well, you know, I could help you there," she said, knowing triumphantly that she had her already.  "If you let me, I could give you the power to keep Whitney away from Chad."

            Simone looked at her suspiciously.  "And what do I have to do?  Sell you my soul?"

            "No, of course not," Cassandra assured her.  "That's not my style, and you don't have to do anything, except agree to let me help you."

            After thinking it over for all of a second, Simone finally answered, "Fine, I'm in."

            "I'm so glad you said that.  "Now, look deep into my eyes for a minute."  Simone complied, and gasped as Cassandra's emerald eyes changed into an eerie gold.  She didn't turn away, however, and although she could not see it, her eyes became that same strange hue.  After a few seconds, both sets of eyes resumed their normal color, and Cassandra broke off the gaze.  "There, now you can get Chad and get revenge on your sister.  You'll know what to do."

            Simone smiled oddly and walked off with an abnormally assured air as Cassandra observed her, astounded at her good luck.  "I certainly didn't expect it to be _that easy, at any rate," she remarked to herself.  "I thought I'd have to employ some degree of coercion or persuasion, but she was more than willing to accept my proposition.  Oh well, all the better for me; with a little luck, this will all turn out exactly as I hope, and I can finally get started grooming my Heir."_


	21. The Prosaically Named Chapter 21

            "There's absolutely nothing going on, Pilar," Ivy claimed, hoping she didn't sound as tense as she felt.

            Pilar scowled indignantly.  "I do have a working brain, Mrs. Crane, and I can clearly see that something isn't right.  You haven't been acting like yourself lately, and I know that you and Kay have a secret of some sort, and now there's that episode I just overheard with Laura.  If I didn't know better, I'd say you didn't even remember who you are."

            Although Pilar had not considered her accusation as a serious possibility, she saw to her surprise that she had struck upon something when Ivy only stared back at her miserably.  "My God," the housekeeper gasped incredulously.  "That's it, isn't it?  You have no memory!"

            Knowing that the jig was up, Ivy knew that the only thing she could do was attempt to keep her former friend from discovering the real cause of her predicament.  "Not exactly," she admitted.  "I know who I am and everything, but I have no recollection of anything that's happened to me or that I've done after a certain point."

            "What's the last thing you can remember?" Pilar asked.

            "Do you remember when Sam went to work on that fishing boat that one summer?"

            "How could I ever forget?" Pilar sighed.  "That was when your father intercepted the letters you two wrote to each other and made you think he was cheating on you.  You ended up marrying Julian that same fall."

            "So _that's how it all happened exactly!" Ivy exclaimed.  "How could my own father do that to me?  Anyway, Pilar, the last thing I can recall is writing one of those letters, when the next thing I knew, Kay was standing in front of me and asking if I was alright.  She then filled me in on everything that she knew, though there's a great deal about which I'm completely in the dark."  Ivy was actually somewhat glad that Pilar had figured it out; it felt good being able to confide in someone, and even back where she came from, Pilar was the only one to whom she could entrust her secrets without the fear of becoming the subject of the next day's catty gossip._

            "You mean, you really don't remember _anything that's happened since?" Pilar asked, wide-eyed.  "Marrying Julian?  Having Ethan and your others?  Scheming to get Sam back?  Getting paralyzed?"_

            Ivy shook her head adamantly.  "Nothing, Pilar; it's all a complete blank.  As I said, it feels like I was just back there a week ago."

            "Do you think it has something to do with your spinal injury, like a delayed malfunction of your nervous system?"

            _Thank you, Pilar, Ivy thought, thankful that the woman had just provided her with a ready-made explanation.  "It could be.  That is the only plausible reason, after all."  __Well, that's not exactly a lie.  It IS a lot more reasonable than an incantation gone awry.  _

            Pilar's face clouded over in doubt, as is she had just thought of another objection.  "If what you're telling me is true, why did you pretend that nothing is wrong, and keep it a secret?  Why didn't you seek out any help?"

            "You see, Kay didn't think it was a good idea," Ivy asserted, relieved to have come up with something.

            "And why not?"                                                                    

            "She said that it would be dangerous for me, that there are too many people who would be likely to use the situation to their advantage is they knew I was down for the count right now," Ivy explained, glad that this part at least had a grain of truth.

            "I suppose she's probably right," Pilar conceded.  "You have certainly had no trouble making enemies these past few years."

            "I've come to realize that," Ivy said unhappily.  "It's kind of funny, really.  I always worried what others would think of me before I did anything.  That's why I kept my relationship with Sam a secret, because I was afraid of being looked down on by my precious social circle and look where it's gotten me: lonely, mean, crippled and friendless."

            Pilar shifted uncomfortably.  "Yes, well, you don't have to worry about me saying anything.  It would be wrong to try and get some sort of revenge on you when you don't even remember anything that you've done to me.  However, don't you think that you should see a doctor to see if they can help you?"

            "I can't," Ivy insisted.  "Dr. Russell hates me, and it might attract too much attention if we brought an outside specialist in."  _Plus, I seriously doubt any of them have a PhD in magic reversal, she mused__._

            "That's true, I guess.  She has detested you ever since you blackmailed her into helping to conceal Ethan's paternity by threatening to reveal the affair she had with Julian when she was young."

            _Yet another crime I've committed, Ivy reflected wryly.  __Why am I not surprised?  "Thank you for agreeing to keep this a secret.  So, how have you been doing, Pilar?  Kay told me about Martin's disappearance all those years ago."_

            "It's been very hard, and I've tried to hold my family together as well as I could.  Right now, though, I don't know how good a job I've done, with Paloma away and Antonio and Luis missing and Theresa married to Julian.  I really don't know what will happen."  To Ivy's chagrin, Pilar sounded taken aback that she had actually asked about her welfare.

            "I'm sorry; I hope your sons turn up.  It's strange to think that they're fully grown, since to me it seems that they should still be rambunctious little boys.  And Pilar, I'm sorry for everything I might've done, especially to Theresa.  It was wrong, and I'm just so sorry that I've thrown away your friendship like this."

            "I'm sorry that you did, too," Pilar responded, uncertain about how to act towards her now.  "If you'll excuse me, I had better go now.  There are some people that I need to speak with."

            Ivy could tell, of course, that the real reason Pilar had left was so that she could think over these new revelations, and determine how she feels about everything.  Ivy hoped that Pilar would be able to think of her as the person she'd been once, because, at this point, she desperately needed a friend.

*****

            As Kay stormed away from Laura, one thought and one thought only occupied her mind.  _She's wrong, and my mother DOES love me!_

_            It was just sour grapes, of course.  Laura was just jealous of her good fortunes, and was trying to get back at her.  All perfectly understandable: she'd probably do the same thing in her shoes, but that's all it was.  She'd be able to prove it, too; as soon as she figured out to bring her mother back, she'd have the mother she'd always wanted once again.  They had grown so close in that short time before the spell, it just HAD to be real!_

            _But what if it wasn't? that little voice in the back of her mind intoned once again, against her most fervent wishes.  __Laura most likely knows what she's talking about, and you barely knew her.  What if, soon after you do the reversal, she gets tired of you and starts neglecting you the way Grace did?  _

_            That was one thing she just couldn't face.  It would mean that there really was nobody in the world who really cared about her.  Many people were interested for what they could get from her, sure, but none of them would actually give a damn.  __Am I really that unworthy of any kind of love? Kay wondered, trying very hard not to cry at her own party._

            Attempting to put all such thoughts out of her mind, Kay looked all around her, trying to focus on something, anything, else, when she noticed something that struck her as very odd indeed.  Simone and Cassandra stood, a little ways from her, deep in some sort of conversation.  Although she couldn't tell what they were talking about, she knew that her vampire ancestor had to be up to something.  For a second, Kay worried that she might be sizing up her next meal, but promptly discounted that theory.  Cassandra was too intelligent to drain somebody on this night, and if she were planning on it, she'd certainly be discreet enough that Kay wouldn't have noticed anything.

            Kay stared at them intently, but a rather large man moved right into her line of vision, and by the time she moved enough to get a clear view, Simone was walking away.  Damn.  Well, she'd continue to keep a lookout for both of them, and if anything weird happened, she'd confront Cassandra about it.

*****

            In the living room, Ethan literally bumped into Theresa, who looked at him in shock.  "Ethan!  I've barely seen you around lately!  For two people who live in the same house, we certainly don't see each other very often."

            "I know, Theresa, but to tell the truth, I've been avoiding you as much as I can," Ethan confessed.

            "Oh," Theresa said quietly.  "Avoiding me, huh?  I'm sorry, I can't blame you; I must be the last person on earth you want to see anymore."

            "No, that's not true!" Ethan insisted.  "I should've made myself clearer.  It's not that I don't want to see you.  In fact, I want to see you far too badly."

            "You--you do?  Even though I left you and hurt you so much?"

            "I don't blame, you, Theresa.  You did what you had to do.  We both made some mistakes, and here we are.  It's just that it's so hard being around you when we both know that we can't be together."

            Theresa smiled a bittersweet smile.  "I've felt the same way.  I just can't bear the thought of you being cut out of my life completely.  Maybe we can still be together as friends.  I mean, you _are still my baby's godfather, and I'd like you to be in his life, especially since he has Julian for a father.  Perhaps we can do things with him.  It would be almost like we were a family," she added hopefully._

            Ethan shook his head regretfully.  "It wouldn't work, Theresa.  I'll always be there if your son needs me, but we'd go crazy being together and yet not being together.  Plus, people would talk, and I'm sure Alistair would not be pleased if you caused a scandal like that.  You have to remember: if you displease him, he can take your baby away from you."

            Theresa's face fell, her spirits crushed as quickly as they had risen.  "I guess you're right, Ethan.  We need to stay apart."  

            Before they could part, though, the music began playing once more.  "Ethan," Theresa said, only slightly above a whisper.  "It'd be okay if we danced together, just this once, wouldn't it?"

            Although he knew that it was probably a bad idea, Ethan nodded.  "I suppose so."  Without another word, he held her, and they moved slowly in unison to the melody.  And so they danced, realizing fully the danger of being so close, but unable to pull apart, even after the music had stopped.

*****

            David found Ivy, sitting in her wheelchair near a sofa, and sat down next to her.  "Have you been faring all right, Ivy?" he asked.

            Ivy shrugged.  "I've found out a couple more horrible things that I've done, making me even worse than I'd already thought I was, if that's possible.  Oh, and Pilar knows about me.  Other than that, I'm peachy keen."

            David stiffened, suddenly worried.  "She knows?  About the spell and everything?"

            "No, not that much.  She realized that I wasn't myself, and I had to tell her that I can't remember most of my life.  She thinks it's some kind of amnesia stemming from my medical condition, though."

            David breathed a sigh of relief.  "Thank God, we really don't want everybody else knowing about that.  If we can just get through all of this quietly until Kay finds the reversal, no one need ever know."

            Ivy looked at him quizzically.  "Didn't Kay tell you?"

            "Tell me what?  All she said was that she wanted me here tonight."

            "She found something about the spell, and while she hasn't found the actual counter-spell, she knows basically what it will do when we find it."

            "Well that's great!" David enthused, until he realized that she didn't look nearly as pleased as it seemed she should.  "It _is great, isn't it, that you'll get to go back?"_

            "I'm not exactly going anywhere," Ivy explained matter-of-factly.  "The reversal will take the other me and anchor her back into this body.  "I'll be 'overwritten.'  That's a good description of what'll happen, I think.  I'll just be gone, with little bits of myself still in her, from what I understand."

            "Oh," David said simply, unable to think of any words that would be appropriate at the moment.

            "Yeah," Ivy replied, trembling a little but determined to act stoic about it all.  "I'm scared, but I guess there's nothing else for it.  I'm not supposed to even be here, after all."

            David again had no comfort to give, though he couldn't help but greatly admire her courage in the face of such a frightening proposition.  They sat together awkwardly for a minute, until the sight of Ethan and Theresa dancing together reminded Ivy of something important.

            "David!" Ivy exclaimed in a low but urgent voice.  "Theresa's in serious danger here!  I've got to make sure that nothing happens to her."

            "What do you mean?"

            "If I can't think of a way to stop her, Rebecca will have her killed!  She was plotting it, and wanted to enlist my help.  If I absolutely have to, I'll turn her in, though that will implicate me, so I'd much rather find a way to convince her not to if I can."

            David stared at her, astonished.  "You're certainly risking a lot in trying to defend Theresa.  You do know that she's the reason you and Ethan lost the Crane name, right?  She's even been trying to bring you down lately.  What, do you not hate her like your older self does?"

            .  "I don't like her at all, that's for sure.  I think she's a crazed idiot, but that doesn't mean that she deserves to die.  And I couldn't just sit back and let her get killed, even if she wasn't Pilar's daughter.  I'm not a murderer."  After thinking about her last statement, though, Ivy amended, "Not yet, anyway."

            "It's amazing how much you've changed, Ivy," David murmured regretfully.

            Ivy, however, didn't hear him.  Instead, she sat, transfixed, watching her son and his ex-fiancée.  "Oh my God," she gasped.  "He really loves her.  There's no mistaking that look.  And, she truly loves him back.  Anybody could tell.  She may be a crazed idiot, but she's a crazed idiot who desperately loves my son, and he loves her back. "

            "Yes, she does love him," David said gently.  "She did 'die' for him, after all.  I'd say Theresa must love Ethan a great deal."

            "Oh my God," she repeated, "My father kept me away from Sam, and I've done everything I could to do the same with MY son and his true love!  How could I do that, no matter how much I dislike her?"

            "Well, you thought that you were acting in his best interests, protecting him from a woman who was going to ruin his life," David offered weakly.

            "Yes, and I'm sure my father thought exactly the same thing, and look where _I ended up.  You know, if it weren't so horrible, this whole situation would be absolutely hilarious in its irony."_

            David had to laugh a bit at that, though he soon was interrupted by Ivy, who took in a sharp breath.  "Oh, no!  Look, David, that's Sam, and he's coming over here, and that woman with him must be his wife.  I really don't know if I can handle this right now."

            However, as Sam and Grace were almost upon them, Ivy and David had no chance of escaping.  After a round of polite greetings, Sam, clearly suspicious at seeing Ivy and David chatting together, remarked, "Well, you two seem to be getting along very well.  What are the two of you up to?"

            David stood up, eyeing Sam defensively.  "I believe we all have a right to speak to anyone we wish to at this party without the fear of an inquisition.  If you must know, Ivy wanted to hire me again to do some photography."                                                                                                   "Photography?" Sam asked, not quite believing the excuse.

            "Yes," Ivy interjected quickly, knowing that she needed to support David's cover story.  "I thought it would be appropriate to have some new family portraits done, now that Kay has turned out to be my daughter.  I figured why not get David Hastings to do it.  He is an excellent photographer," she continued, hoping that he was, "so I knew that he would do a splendid job.  We were discussing times and prices when you interrupted us.  We weren't 'up to' anything, Sam."

            _Good work, Ivy, David thought, impressed by her quick thinking, especially since he was fairly certain she didn't even know previously that he was a photographer._

            "Alright," Sam conceded reluctantly, "I guess that sounds reasonable enough."

            Suddenly, David's son John came trotting up to them, a goofy smile plastered on his face.  "Mom, Dad, I really think that the two of you should dance one dance together again." 

            "Now John," David protested, "I hardly think that that would be appropriate in these circ—"

            "Aw, c'mon," John insisted.  "It's just one dance, and I'm sure that Sam won't mind."

            "Sam, do you?" Grace asked, uncertain.

            Although Sam obviously did mind quite a bit, he didn't want to appear ridiculously jealous and insecure.  "I guess not, go ahead."

            John grinned even wider and, mission accomplished, walked away.  Grace and David danced off together, leaving only Sam and Ivy behind.

*****

            "Okay, Ivy," Sam said as soon as Grace was out of hearing distance.  "What's going on?"

            "What are you talking about?" Ivy had tried to steel herself against the possibility of an encounter with Sam tonight, but it hadn't worked at all.  He may have been twenty some years older, but he was still Sam, and the sight of him with another woman as his wife cut her to the core.  Much worse, though, was that look of suspicion in his eye when he looked at her that she had never seen in him before.

            "Don't play innocent with me," Sam ordered with a wry half-smile.  "Whenever we're somewhere together, you always have some sort of scheme cooked up to get me to leave Grace.  So far, you haven't pulled anything, as far as I can tell.  It's all a little too quiet."

            "Maybe I've just run out of schemes and I've given up," Ivy argued halfheartedly, hating to hear Sam talk to her this way.

            "I wish I could believe you, but you've claimed that you saw the truth, that I'll never leave Grace, before, but you've always had something else planned.  I really hope you have seen the light, Ivy.  After all, it has been over twenty years."

            Ivy wanted to tell him that it hadn't been over twenty years for _her, that, for her, they were together just weeks ago, but all she said was, "I know I need to accept it if I'll have any peace."  Only, she __couldn't accept it._

            "Yes, you do need to.  After all, I'm not even the one who left in the first place.  You made that choice, Ivy; you're the one who gave up on us."

            _But I didn't give up on you, Sam.  I haven't even started seeing Julian yet.  And if I could only go back knowing all this, I never would leave you.  "It was the biggest mistake I ever made, and I'd fix it if I could," she said aloud._

            "Well, you can't" Sam maintained.  "What's done is done, and I'm actually glad you can't change it.  I love Grace, and the life we've built together.  I wouldn't trade it for anything, not even the life I might've had with you."

            Ivy felt like she was going to throw up, and decided at that instant that she hated this Grace with every fiber of her being.  Did Sam really mean it?  She loved him so completely, and she thought that he had felt the same way, once, at least.  Was he actually _glad that things had turned out the way they had?  "Please, Sam, this is a very painful subject for me.  Could we talk about something else now?"_

            The sincerity in her voice shook Sam, and he felt slightly remorseful in spite of himself about the severity of his words, though he knew that he had to remain firm with her.  "I'm sorry, Ivy.  I just need you to realize that once and for all.  How is Kay doing here, really?  Grace and I have been worried about her.  She's so angry, and we don't know why, and we just want to stay a part of her life.  She still _feels like our daughter, no matter who she's related to genetically."  Realizing who he'd just said that too, he apologetically added, "No offense, Ivy."_

            "That's okay," Ivy assured him.  "I know how you feel, with Laura.  It's just so unbelievable, and of all the people this could happen to, our children had to be switched with each other."  Again, she felt another pang of guilt about that incident with Laura earlier, though she had no idea how to even attempt to correct it.  Right now, she'd better just play her role the best that she could.  "Kay's doing remarkably well, for the most part.  I'm extremely lucky, because she's really opened up to me, and we're getting along very well." 

            "I'd heard something to that effect, and I'm glad to hear it's true," Sam replied, though she could detect a little resentment that his "daughter" had really bonded with another parent.  "I only wish we were so lucky with Laura.  She's polite enough, but she's very guarded, though she does seem to be starting to talk to Jessica more.  I think she might be nursing some resentment towards you and Julian."

            "Kay's the same way; she seems furious with your wife, though I don't think she's angry with you very much, if at all."

_            "Well, there's no reason why she should be that way," Sam declared defensively.  "Grace is a wonderful mother."_

            _Oh really, Ivy thought spitefully.__  If Grace is so wonderful, then why does Kay hate her so much?  However, she actually said, "I'm afraid Laura has every right to feel like this about me.  I was never there for her like I should've been."_

            Sam studied Ivy's features, as if trying to discern her motivations.  "I don't know, Ivy," he stated finally.  "I can't figure you out tonight.  The words you're saying make you sound like you're up to something, but there's something…different about you.  I can't put my finger on what it is, but I know it's there."

            More than anything at the moment, Ivy longed to tell him everything, that she was different, or rather, the same as she used to be, that she wasn't the monster that he had come to know.  She realized that she could not tell anybody, however, and even if she could, what would it accomplish?  Sam would be thrown, if she could even get him to believe her, but it wouldn't change anything between them, and she was only here temporarily anyway.  No, it was better that she kept silent, so Ivy resignedly replied, "I don't know what you're talking about, Sam.  I'm just the same as always."

            Sam still looked uncertain, but didn't argue with her.  Looking for an excuse to leave, he said, "I think David's been dancing with Grace for long enough now, so if I'll be going now." 

            With that, Sam left, and Ivy silently watched him go to dance with his wife, too devastated for tears.

*****

            "How is the annulment coming along?" Grace asked David as they danced together.  "It's not that I don't trust you, which I most definitely do.  It's just that Sam's starting to get suspicious about you and your motives again, and I want to be able to tell him how wrong he is about you."

            David sighed, hating to deceive Grace in such a way, but unable to do anything about it.  True, Ivy wasn't breathing down his neck at the moment, but if he let the annulment to their "marriage" get pushed through while she was out of commission, she'd almost certainly nail him the second Kay managed to bring her back to herself again.  He knew that this respite from Ivy's plotting was only temporary, and that once she was back she'd restart the blackmailing straight away, though if he were completely honest with himself, that wasn't the only reason he dreaded getting the other Ivy back.  "I've been talking with my attorney, and he's drawing up the papers.  He's hit a snag, unfortunately, but he'll hopefully have them ready in a few weeks."

            "I knew that I could trust you," Grace smiled before her features darkened with worry.  "At least that's something that's going right."

            "What do you mean?"                                                                                               

            "It's just that evil has entered our lives again.  I'm certain of it.  Kay not being my daughter, and then her becoming the Crane heir.  Somehow, I just know it was evil that took her away from us and brought her here.  As if that weren't enough, Charity and Timmy nearly died a few weeks back.  Evil was definitely behind that.  Now, Charity and I have been having premonitions of evil more and more frequently.  I'm afraid that these forces of evil have targeted my family again, when I'd so hoped that the evil had left us after my house was destroyed and I'd lost my baby.  I'm especially worried about Charity right now.  After all, she's more sensitive than anybody to the evil in our lives, and it always seems to go after her more than anyone else.  I'm so scared that evil will try to kill her."

            "I'm sure that everything will turn out alright," David muttered absently.  After about the fifth "evil," he had found his mind wandering.  He was convinced that she had to be right about these supernatural forces, what with Ivy's condition and all, but couldn't she talk about anything else?  The more he thought about it, all that she ever did was worry and fret about something or other.  In fact, he couldn't recall one instance in which she'd made a witty remark or even laughed at something that struck her as funny.  If Grace didn't have the threat of evil to talk about, would she even have anything to say?

            Shocked to have been thinking such a thing about the woman that he loved, David stopped himself and tried his best to hold an interesting conversation with her.  Eventually, though, Sam tapped him on the shoulder, clearly impatient to dance with his wife again.  David complied, strangely enough not as reluctantly as he'd expected, and went off to find Ivy, not because he really wanted to see her that much or anything, of course, but because he felt obligated to check up on her after what must have been an extraordinarily difficult meeting with Sam.

*****

            It didn't take long for Simone to find Chad and Whitney in the crowd.  They were dancing together.  Big surprise.  _Go ahead, have your little dance, the teen thought maliciously.  __Cuz in just moments, you'll be mine, Chad, and Whitney'll be sorry she ever betrayed me._

_            Smiling, she strolled leisurely up to the happy couple and stood right in their way.  "Simone, what are you doing?" Whitney asked nervously, fearing a huge fight out in public.  Simone had been nothing if not unstable ever since she had found out, but, while Whitney had been angry at Chad for not letting her tell her sister the truth, she had tried not to let her sister's insane rage shake her resolve to be with Chad._

            Without a word, Simone raised her right hand, opened her palm, and pointed it at Whitney.  Her eyes briefly turned gold, and Whitney practically flew several feet away, gaping at her sister incredulously.

            Chad stared at Simone with a mix of shock and anger.  "What the hell did you just d—"

            "No words," Simone ordered calmly, and Chad found that he could no longer speak.  "Now, it's such a wonderful party.  Let's dance."

            Although Chad certainly had no intention of dancing with her, his arms automatically reached out to hold her, and his legs began to slowly move to the music.  Unable to stop himself, all he could do was to throw a stunned Whitney a panicked, apologetic glance.

            "Ah, Chad, isn't this sooo nice?"  Simone looked up at him, creepily content.  "See, this is how things are supposed to be with us!  We're just meant to be together, there's no escaping it."

            Having had more than enough, Whitney ran back at Simone, intending to drag her off of her boyfriend, but Simone saw her coming, and distractedly blasted her away once more

            "C'mon Chad, it's much too crowded in here.  Let's go out onto the grounds.  It'll be so much nicer out there."  Grinning from ear to ear, Simone began leading an unwilling Chad towards the nearest exit. Neither Whitney nor Chad could believe what was happening, but were powerless to do anything about it.  Fuming, Whitney followed Simone at a safe distance, unsure of what to do, but certainly not about to let her sister literally abduct her boyfriend.

*****

            Semi-hidden behind a corner, Kay had witnessed the whole spectacle.  "Alright, Simone," she said to herself, "Unless you've gotten yourself a new hobby in the last few weeks, and somehow I really doubt it, you shouldn't have been able to do magic like that."

            Come to think of it, what _was it that she had done exactly?  It didn't appear to be the sort of magic she was used to, that was for sure.  Aside from the lack of any discernible incantations that puzzled her, Kay was beginning to get a sense for magic due to her experimentation in the arts, and it didn't __feel like any sort of magic that she knew, though it was undeniably supernatural in origin._

            Whatever it was, at any rate, Cassandra no doubt had something to do with it.  Knowing that she had to do something, Kay began systematically searching all of the rooms open to guests, and, after a few minutes, found the vampire standing expectantly in a little side room.

            "Kay!" Cassandra exclaimed, her voice dripping with a smug cheerfulness.  "How sweet of you to think to check up on your lonely old ancestor!  I was thinking about the matter of your education, and it occurred to me that we need to set a schedule up soon."

            "Can it," Kay snarled, not caring that she was in fact addressing a vampire.  "What in God's name do you think you're doing?!"

            Instead of flying into a violent rage, as someone like Alistair might have expected her to do, Cassandra reacted to Kay's outburst with a decided approval.  "I admire your spirit, Kay.  There aren't many, especially of your tender age, who would dare speak to me in that tone.  It's refreshing, actually.  However, I'm sorry, but I have no idea as to what you might be referring."

            "Ha ha," Kay laughed sarcastically.  "Very funny, but you know perfectly well what I'm talking about.  What the hell have you done to Simone, and why?"


	22. The Prosaically Named Chapter 22

            Timmy frowned sympathetically as he and Tabitha watched Ivy look on while Sam left to join his wife.  "Poor Ivy, it all must be so hard for her.  Timmy likes _this version of Ivy; she's actually good and nice!"_

            Tabitha looked as if she was about to vomit.  "Yes," she replied disdainfully.  "Sickening, isn't it?  She was so deliciously evil before Kay had to go and cast that spell.  All those long hours of hard work for nothing!"

            "What does Tabby mean by that?" Timmy asked, once again confused.

            "When I began to set into motion the catalysts that would eventually lead to Ivy being trapped in a marriage with Julian, I had more in mind than for her to endure decades of pain and suffering, though that was certainly a bonus.  No, I had hoped that she would eventually be corrupted and become a potent force of evil, for a human.  I succeeded wonderfully, but now she's reverted back to the flawed but essentially good person that she once was, and all of my handiwork has been undone.  At least she's miserable like this," Tabitha consoled herself feebly.

            "Timmy doesn't like it when his Princess enjoys watching others in pain," he admonished her earnestly, a worry line darkening his brow.  "Timmy would want her to get fixed so that she won't suffer anymore, except that she would just go back to being evil again."

            "Don't be so sure of that," Tabitha answered in an apprehensive tone.  "If the necessary counter spell is ever performed, Ivy Crane will still be forever altered by the remnants of this Ivy.  The thing is, we have no way of knowing how much of Ivy Winthrop will be 'left over,' or what the effect of the fusion between the two will be.  There are many possibilities: Ivy may indeed revert to evil scheming and manipulation, she may turn to good, or the melding might be so traumatic that she could end up incurably insane.  We simply don't know."

            "Timmy supposes that Tabitha wants the reversal done, so that all of her work to make Ivy evil might possibly be saved," Timmy said glumly.

            "On the contrary, lad!" Tabitha exclaimed vehemently.  "Having that cursed counter spell done is the last thing I want to happen!"

            "Why is that?" Timmy asked, hoping against hope that Tabitha for once had a goodhearted motive in wanting something.

            Timmy, however, was about to be greatly disappointed.  "While I would love to have her back on the side of evil," the witch explained, "the possible consequences of her choosing to be good are just too severe to risk it.  Right now, as Ivy Winthrop, she's essentially useless to either side, and is suffering beautifully.  However, if Ivy Crane, possessing a much greater degree of power and know-how, were to repent of her past sins, she could become a formidable force for good.  If she did nothing else, imagine what would happen if she set about righting her wrongs!  The plot to break up Sam and Grace, the virtual Sword of Damocles forever hovering over Eve Russell's head, and the persecution of Theresa would all cease, reaping happiness where chaos and pain had been sown.  Just think of what a disaster that would be for our side!  No, Timmy, Ivy must remain as she is now."

            Timmy's eyes lit up with optimism.  "If the spell is found, then Ivy might become good _and a lot of good people in Harmony will become much happier!  Timmy hopes that Kay can manage to find it; with a little luck, it might fix everything!"_

            "You little traitor!" Tabitha scolded in disapproval.  "I specifically stated that such a happening would be cataclysmic, and you proceed to openly wish for it to come to pass!  I swear, Dim Tim, if I didn't love you so much I would have disposed of you long ago, for all the trouble you cause me.  Anyway, that's one thing I don't have to worry about: there is absolutely no chance of Kay finding the reversal."

            "Why not?"

            The exact spell, though simple to actually perform, was written down in a book in which very few copies had been made to begin with.  There is reliable documentation showing clearly the destruction of all but one of the copies.  That copy disappeared many years ago, and most believe that it too has been destroyed, thus making the spell lost forever.  Even if it still exists somewhere, Kay doesn't have the slightest prayer of locating it, especially seeing as how the only books she has to look through are ones that _I lent her!  Rest assured, there's no way in Hades that I would have given her anything that might really tell her what she needed, and she won't have the slightest clue as to where to begin looking past my collection.  Without a doubt, Ivy Winthrop is here to stay," Tabitha finished triumphantly._

            Although Timmy didn't say anything in objection to Tabitha's assertion, his brain nevertheless furiously contemplated the situation.  Restoring Ivy would be risky, since she could still go bad again, but he knew that no matter what the result of it might be, it was still the right thing to do.  The problem, of course, was now figuring out just that might be done.  Finding the counter spell did seem hopeless, but somehow Timmy had the strongest feeling that something could be done.  Somehow, there just _had to be a way to fix Ivy.  Furthermore, Timmy firmly believed that he might eventually be able to do something to help.  However, he knew that there was nothing he could do at the present, and decided to stay quiet, while in the meantime he would keep his eyes and ears open in case he should happen to come upon the perfect solution to the problem._

*****     

            "Oh, _that," Cassandra replied languidly, not particularly concerned.  "Well, you know, this soiree was getting rather dull, so I thought I'd find something to amuse myself.  I didn't think you would mind, since while you might have been best friends with her once, the two of you did have quite a nasty falling out as of late."_

            "That doesn't mean I want anything weird or horrible done to her!"  Kay's anger, though, soon turned to confusion.  "And, h—how did you know that anyway?  About Simone and I being best friends and then fighting?  I'm sure I never told you anything like that!"

            Offhandedly, Cassandra dismissed her questions.  "Oh, I have certain…methods of my own.  You'd be surprised at what exactly I know, so you might as well get used to it.  As for what I did to her, it's simple, really; I just helped her out with a little problem she's been having."

            "What problem?" Kay asked suspiciously.

            "I'm sure you know that she found out that the man she thought was her boyfriend actually loved her sister?"

            Kay nodded.  "Yes, of course."

            "I asked her if she wanted some 'help' in getting him.  I was rather surprised, really; she was more than willing from the very beginning.  I simply gave her the power to do so."

            Kay studied the vampire's features, convinced that she had not said everything.  What exactly did you do, and what'll happen to Simone?"

            Cassandra smiled.  "I transferred some power to her. It allows her to do what she's doing right now.  It also makes her seem possessed, although in reality, she's just become rather, shall we say, single-minded, consumed by only two thoughts: getting Chad and punishing Whitney.  It'll get worse, though she seems to be progressing remarkably quickly, no doubt because she was halfway there already."

            "What'll happen, if it keeps going on?"

            "Oh, eventually she'll be totally mad with it.  I daresay she's likely to try and kill somebody, or even several somebodies, which I daresay she'll probably succeed at," Cassandra remarked with all the emotion of someone commenting on a chess tournament.  "Then, since humans aren't built to endure that kind of spell, it'll kill her, not to mention anybody unfortunate enough to be standing next to her at the time."

            By this point Kay was brimming over with unconcealed rage.  "You basically killed her then, and a bunch of bystanders with her!  Why, what was the point?!"

            "As I said before," Cassandra repeated patiently, examining her nails.  "I thought it might be amusing.  I only promised her that she would get Chad, not that she would live to keep him, so it's really all her own fault for agreeing so readily to my proposal.  You certainly wouldn't think that I'd have any moral qualms about putting people in danger, would you?  I'm a vampire, my naïve girl; I've killed more humans than you could possibly imagine, and I've relished every single one."

            "Then, what's keeping you from killing me?" Kay asked uneasily, the fact that she was alone in a room with a vampire finally beginning to sink in.

            "Please," Cassandra laughed.  "You're my Heir, and killing you would be counterproductive, to say the least.  Besides, even if you weren't, you're still my descendent.  Oh, I know some vampires who went and murdered their entire families after being turned, but I happen to believe in the sanctity of family bonds.  I've spent the past three-and-a-half centuries doing my best to strengthen Crane power, and feeding off of, or otherwise killing, a family member is one of the few things I'd never do.  This is also an unequivocal rule for the family that you'd best hear now: under no circumstances, no matter what, are you to murder another Crane."

            "Fine, I'll remember that," Kay promised, just grateful that she wasn't in danger of becoming an appetizer at her own party.  "But I still wanna know how long we have until the spell kills her, and how I can stop it."

            "All right," the vampire sighed.  "I'll tell you, if you _really feel the need to do something about it.  You'll need to grab a hold of her, because you need to directly purge her of the power, and speak the words, __Risipiti-va__, puteri furate!, and if you put enough power behind them, and are lucky, you should be able to save her.  If not, well, let's just say it won't be very pleasant for you, so I __do wish you'd just let the situation play itself out.  If you insist, however, you'd better make it quick, since, at the rate she's going, I doubt she has half-an-hour left."_

            Glaring disgustedly, Kay replied, "Oh, I'm gonna stop this, and after I do, it's over.  You're insane, and I'm not going to be learning ANYTHING from you, so you can just forget all about that 'education' stuff."

            Having said her piece, Kay left hurriedly, determined to find Simone before she hurt herself, or anyone else.  Cassandra stayed behind, completely unruffled by Kay's last statement. "You may not know it yet, Kay," Cassandra said confidently, "but you reacted exactly as I had hoped.  By the end of the night, if Fortune is smiling down on us, you'll have fully come into your role as the True Heir of the Cranes."

*****

            Once Kay had finally found Simone, in a clearing not far from Sheridan's cottage, she was was momentarily struck speechless by the shock of the sight that befell her.  Simone was positioned under a tree, Chad next to her (unwillingly, Kay assumed), while several feet away lay Whitney, looking for all the world as if she had been tied up with invisible ropes.  Somehow, Mr. and Mrs. Russell had happened upon the three, and stood about ten feet from them, banging helplessly on what appeared to be thin air; no doubt they were being held back by some sort of force field. 

            "What is this, Simone?!" Dr. Russell yelled, utterly baffled.

            "C'mon, Sugar Bear, you don't really want to do whatever it is you're doing!" TC pleaded.

            "Sorry, Daddy, but I do want to," Simone grinned, and turned her attention to Whitney.  I'm sorry, 'sis', but we both know this is the only way.  As long as you're living, Chad will always love you, but, with you dead, he'll realize that we're supposed to be together."

            "NO!!!" screamed her parents.

            Whitney looked up at her sister, eyes wide with terror.  "Please, Simone, I'm sorry," she begged, sobbing.  "Please don't kill me.  I never meant to hurt you, it just happened!"

            Yeah, Whit, you're breaking my heart," Simone sneered.  "Face it, it's over.  Somebody's not going to Wimbledon after all."  She directed her palm at Whitney, prepared to deal the fatal blow—

            "WAIT!" Chad shouted desperately, grabbing Simone's attention.  "Let Whitney live.  Do this, and I promise that I'll break up with her, and be with you forever."

            Simone thought about his proposition for a second, but then shook her head decisively.  "Uh-huh, Chad, I can't risk you going back to her, which you definitely can't do if she's dead.  'Sides, she betrayed me, and it's time for some sweet revenge!"

            Once more, Simone raised her arm, and once more she was interrupted, this time by Kay, who ran at her shouting, "Cut it out, Simone!  You'll never get away with it!  Anyway, the force you're under will kill you if you don't get a reversal!"

            Effortlessly, the mad teen stopped Kay in her tracks by casting something on her.  Before she knew it, Kay found herself laying on the ground, feeling as if she had been tied down, though nothing physically held her.  _Damn! Kay thought wildly, __She__ must've put the same mojo on me that she used on Whitney over there._

_            Simone walked over to Kay, gloating at her old friend's helplessness.  "Ya know what, Kay?  That felt really good!  I've been so sick of you, always acting above it all, like you could do anything you wanted.  Well, who's superior now?  Just for fun, as soon as I get Whitney I think I'll finish you off while I'm at it.  Then, nothing can stand in my way."_

            Simone turned her back on Kay, and slowly made her way back to Whitney.  Kay, meanwhile, began struggling once again, and realized that, for whatever reason, the spell didn't have nearly as strong a hold on her as it did on Whitney.  Although it felt like something very strong was holding her back, Kay discovered that, if she fought it with all her strength, she could indeed move.  With a great exertion, Kay managed to stand up, and fighting her bonds, forced herself to run over to Simone, who, facing Whitney, did not notice her oncoming presence.  Simone raised her arm, this time really about to kill her terrified sister, when Kay finally grabbed her arm, and forcibly turned her around until they stood face to face.

            Before Simone had time to react beyond utter shock, Kay commandingly yelled, "_Risipiti-va__, puteri furate!"_

_            Although Kay did not know it, her eyes turned gold for a split second, until a blinding red blast tore the two girls apart, throwing them in opposite directions.  Now __that was strange!  It certainly didn't feel like any magic she had ever used before; the power source was somehow different.  When Kay regained her senses, she saw that the force field imposed on TC and Eve had vanished, and Whitney had been able to get up.  Simone, once she managed to stand up again, looked around her with an expression of total confusion that Kay could easily tell was fake, and asked, "Wh-where am I?  What happened?"_

            "What happened?!" Chad yelled, absolutely enraged.  "You were doing some sort of weird magic stuff, and tried to kill Whitney, that's what happened!"

            Somehow convinced of his daughter's innocence, TC gave Simone a hug, and whispered, "Shh, it's alright, Sugar Bear.  You were under some sort of mind control, but it's all going to be okay now."  Turning his attention to Kay, TC stared at her fiercely.  "I don't know exactly what you did, but somehow this is all YOUR fault!"

            Kay gaped at him, not believing what she was hearing.  "MINE?!  Excuse me, but Simone's the one who went all Dark Willow on us, not me.  She was outta control, and I stopped her!"

            TC remained unmoved by Kay's righteous indignation.  "I don't know exactly what happened, but I know you were behind it!  You probably stopped her 'cuz you were losing control or something."

            "And why would I have done it anyway, even if I could?" Kay protested furiously.

            "Kay has a point, TC," Eve pointed out nervously.  "I can't see any reason for her to put Simone under some sort of spell like that."

            But TC wasn't listening.  Instead, he was seeing red at the thought of this Crane girl doing something to his little girl.  "Crane's don't _need a reason for being evil, they just are!  Maybe she's learning the family secrets, and decided to practice on Simone, or she could've just done it for fun.  Whatever it is, I just know that she's responsible.  I know, we'll ask Simone about what happened.  Sugar Bear?"_

            "C'mon, Simone," implored Kay.  "Tell them how you made a deal with her, and went all psycho."

            Simone, too humiliated to look Kay in the face, stared at the ground and softly replied, "Kay's lying, Daddy, the last thing I remember is talking with her tonight, and she, uh, twirled something at me, and I can't remember anything after that.  I guess she must've had something possess me or something."

            "You self-righteous, hypocritical, lying little bitch!" Kay screamed, fighting the desire to tear her "friend" to pieces right then and there.  "You know perfectly well that I haven't even talked to you tonight before now.  You remember everything, don't you, and you've decided to blame it all on me to save your own skin!  After all the lectures and telling offs you've given me, and the way you always smugly told me that _you would **never do anything evil, not only do you turn around and do it, but you can't even own up to it!  I should rip you to shreds right now!"**_

            She made as if to attack her, but TC stepped between the two of them and hovered over Kay imposingly.  "Keep away from my daughter, you, you _Crane!" he spat out, using what in his mind was the dirtiest word he could come up with.  "There's no way I'm gonna take the word of Julian's daughter over my own child's.  It was you, I'm certain of it!"_

            "No, Mr. Russell, your daughter got herself into this of her own free will, and if I hadn't stopped her, she would've killed herself and all of you," Kay seethed, her voice dangerously low.  "I wasn't behind it, but I did save her life, and yours."

            "You stopped her, alright," TC admitted.  "But, if you're innocent, how come you knew what was going on, and how to break the spell?"

            Kay had no answer to that.  She certainly couldn't tell him that Simone had been enchanted by a vampire who had then told Kay how to stop her.  In a voice barely above a whisper, Kay finally answered, "I can't explain how I knew."

            TC grunted in triumph.  "So, you've admitted it, then?  I knew it.  If you weren't a girl, I'd tear you apart right now for what you've done to my daughter!  As it is, I'm warning you to stay away from my family.  Thank God that your true nature was revealed in that DNA test, so we know to keep away from you now.  I guess this just goes to show that Crane blood is so tainted by evil that even being raised a Bennett can't change a Crane at the core.  Come on, everybody, we're leaving this evil house."

            Although it was readily apparent that the others were not as convinced of Kay's guilt as TC was, they knew enough not to argue with TC when he was in one of his episodes.  One by one, they all filed away, Simone too ashamed of herself to even dare to look at Kay.

            Finally, Kay was all alone, trying to come to terms with what had just happened.  "Was it just me?" Kay asked to the night sky, "Or did I just do the hero thing and save the day, and end up getting crucified for my trouble?"

            "It wasn't just you," uttered an all too familiar voice originating from behind her.

            "_You."  Kay turned around and was rewarded with the sight of Cassandra, smiling, as usual.  "You're the one who caused all of this."_

            "Yes, I am," Cassandra agreed casually.  "And you're the one who righted it all, but they didn't believe you, did they?  TC didn't even give you a chance; in his mind, you were guilty at the outset."

            "He wouldn't let me explain myself," Kay remarked absently.  "There was absolutely no way he was going to believe me, no matter what.  He's known me my entire life; hell, I must've slept over at his house dozens of times, and he was so convinced that I'm this purely evil creature that he wouldn't even hear my side of the story."

            "That must be very hard on you."

            "Oh, don't give me the fake sympathy routine," she hissed.  "I know you had some sort of ulterior motive in all of this.  What was that spell I cast, anyway?  It felt strange; I've never done anything else like that before."

            "I should think not," Cassandra replied offhandedly, with a slight hint of pride.  "What you just did wasn't any sort of magic that you can learn; it isn't even human magic, but vampire magic."

            Kay raised an eyebrow skeptically.  "_Vampire magic?"_

            "Yes," the vampiress asserted.  "Nosferitia is its proper term.  Your popular culture may not know this, but we vampires are actually very powerful enchanters in our own, unique way.  As I said before, it's a trait inborn into vampires, but those carrying a vampire's bloodline sometimes possess it, to varying degrees.  It's not as strong in the human, though, so whereas I don't need any words, you must recite the right incantation to call upon the magic within you.  It feels different because its source is inherently different from your other magic source.  If you had been unable to cast the nosferitia, I would have been greatly disappointed, seeing as you're my Heir."

            "Whoa, back up a sec!  Other magic source?  What do you mean, and why does the fact that you have this 'nosferitia' mean that I'll have it?  What, if I had kids and then became a vampire, they'd get vampire powers?"

            Cassandra laughed.  "No, I'm not just some ancestor who got turned, Kay; I was pregnant when I was made, and my child, and by extension all of his descendents, inherited a certain 'vampiric' nature."

            Kay's blinked several times, totally stunned.  "I'm part vampire?"

            "No, you're human, but you possess certain abilities and tendencies that set you apart.  I'll get to those later.  As for you other question, you also possess Standish magic."

            "But, I'm not a Standish!" Kay exclaimed.

            "Yes, you are, a distant one.  Alistair's wife, your grandmother, descended from a branch of that family.  That strain had lost their powers, but in you and Sheridan, actually, they have resurfaced.  The difference between you and every other Standish I've ever known of is that all of them had powers of unequivocal goodness while yours are neutral, at best."

            "My God," said Kay, still reeling from Cassandra's revelation about the Cranes.  "The Cranes really are 'tainted by evil'!"

            "I suppose you could say that.  Which means, of course, that no matter how hard you try to be good, people will always distrust you, just because of who you are.  They'll always sense the evil."

            "Then, that's why I'm so alone," Kay whispered.  "I am unworthy.  That's why Miguel doesn't love me."

            Cassandra scoffed.  "Unworthy?  Hardly, Kay.  You possess the potential for enormous power; that's why you're my Heir.  As for Miguel, who cares whom he 'loves', anyway?  If he can't see your superiority to that nauseating, tiresome Charity, then you're better off without him."

            "That's not true!" Kay protested.  "He-he's—"

            "A 'loser,' I believe your generation would call him.  A simpleton and an idiot, who follows Charity around like a sick puppy and has no life of his own.  He's dull, without any sense of humor to speak of, and while he is undeniably good-looking, he's not interesting or exciting in the least.  If Charity hadn't come along, you probably would've gotten bored with him and would have broken it off long ago.  What's more, he's so preoccupied with Charity that he's not even a good friend.  When you were all trapped on Warlock Island, and you were dangling off of the ledge, about to fall to your death, he wanted to leave you to look for Charity, who _might have been in danger!  He had to be persuaded not to let you die, Kay!  Now, whether he loves you or not, no actual friend should do that to another."_

            "You're right," admitted Kay miserably, fighting back tears.  "He doesn't care about me at all."

            "No, nor should you for him.  He was a girlhood crush that would've fizzled out on its own had you not been thwarted in the first place," Cassandra insisted.

            Kay looked deep within herself, and found that Cassandra had spoken truly.  She realized that she didn't really love Miguel, and hadn't for a long time.  She had been desperate _for love, however, so she had singled out Miguel for that purpose.  How stupid and pathetic was she, doing everything she had done for someone whom she didn't even love, and who didn't give a damn about her?  As she contemplated this, a new emotion towards Miguel began to emerge: she __despised him for unwittingly making her a fool, for never really caring, even as a friend, and most of all, for picking Charity, just as everybody else from whom she'd sought love had done._

            Cassandra could sense the girl's rage, and encouraged by it, pressed on.  "Don't worry, Kay.  As my Heir, you'll surely be a force to be reckoned with."

            "NO!" Kay shouted, "I don't want to be evil!"

            "You don't have much of a choice, dear.  It's been born within you."

            "I don't care!  I want to be good; I don't want to be unclean," she persisted.

            "Good," Cassandra laughed harshly, her voice hinting for the first time at a genuine bitterness, "Good.  Let me tell you about 'goodness' and 'virtue.'  I believed in all of that once, far more passionately, I have no doubt, than you do ever did.  In life I was a puritan, after all.  I'm not saying I never faltered, for I surely did, but I believed in a just and righteous God, who would not abandon His people so long as they stayed true to His word.  I'm not trying to tell you that God doesn't exist, for He most certainly does, but I learned firsthand of his 'justness'.  Some people have trouble believing in a good God because of all the suffering in this world.  That's nonsense, and it never shook my faith in God.  After all, we're responsible to a certain extent for ourselves in this world, but God, I was certain, was always there in spiritual crises if not earthly ones.

            "One night, in the year 1650, I was walking back home late after helping Goody Bennett with her quilting.  My husband didn't like me out and about so much when I was so close to giving birth, especially since he was one of the most prominent men in the town and felt that, as his wife, I was above such activity.  However, Goody Bennett was a good friend and I insisted upon going.  That same night, three vampires that had just landed in the harbor descended on Harmony, and I was unlucky enough to have been out that night.  For some reason, and to this day I'm not sure why, they decided to turn me alone.  I was given no choice in the matter, and I have a vague recollection of myself, horribly weak from loss of blood, having the crimson liquid forced down my throat, while I had no comprehension of what was happening.  Apparently, the townspeople found my body, cut my son out of my womb, and took me back to the Crane house until my burial.

            Later that night, I awoke, terrified and utterly disoriented.  Modern horror films show the newly arisen vampire as an instantly ferocious demon, but apart from a horrible confusion, I felt no different, no bloodlust or anything you might think that I would have had.  Panic-stricken, I arose and wandered fearfully through the house until I found my cross necklace that I always wore on a nearby table.  I always felt safer with it on, so naturally, I grabbed it, only to find that it seared my hand with an excruciating pain!  Well, this unsettled me even more, but in my bewildered state I thought that maybe it had somehow been heated up and was still hot from the fire that had warmed it.

            "For some reason, the only thought now in my head was that I had to get to the church, that if I made it there, somehow everything would be all right.  I can still vividly recall running through the empty streets until I arrived at the church.  Well, I tried to enter—and I couldn't!  An invisible barrier of some sort prevented me from entering, when all I desperately wanted was to pray and receive guidance from God.  I then looked down at my hand, and saw the burnt cross in the center of my palm.  It was then that it finally hit me: God had turned me away, deemed me evil and unclean.  If I end up living forever, that instant will still be etched in my mind as if it happened an hour ago: I was unwanted by God, and nothing I could do would ever change that.

            "I don't know what would've happened to me if I'd been left alone that night, but the other vampires found me and explained to me what I was, and instructed me to go back home and play dead until I could be buried, so that I could then rise from my grave.  It was all so unreal to me, but I obeyed them.  After the funeral, they returned and helped unearth me; I think that they expected me to join their pack, but I refused, wanting only to remain in my home.  I revealed myself to my husband, who, after the initial shock, saw the potential advantage of the situation and secretly installed me back in the house, building the first, crude underground chambers that are now an intricate passageway beneath the mansion.

            "From that point on, I was determined, determined to 'stick it to God,' as you would say.  I was an evil creature, but not by my own volition.  I didn't make a deal, or accept an offer; no, I was raped into being a vampire, and still, God punished me.  If I had been just killed that, it would've been another story, for things like that happen, and would my soul would have remained untarnished in His eyes.  But to actually cast me away over something that I had no control over?  There's your just God, right there.  It hurt unbearably for a long time, but eventually I came to the decision that if God wouldn't let me be good, well then, I'd be the worst monster imaginable.  I also decided that my bloodline, also being afflicted against their will, would rise up above all others, and I would make it my unlife's work to see it done.  And so, Kay, you see that, just as God has condemned me unjustly, so he has you as well."

            Kay had been held virtually mesmerized throughout Cassandra's tale, but drew back in confusion and disbelief after her last statement.  "What are you talking about?  How has God 'condemned' me?"

            "Don't you see?" she asked pointedly.  "Because you come from 'tainted' stock, you had pre-made marks against you that you can never erase.  He gave you all these setbacks, and whenever you tried to fight them, he never gave you any help or consideration.  Instead, he favored people like Charity, to whom He gave powers of goodness, and no dark side of her nature to speak of, making it so much easier for them to turn away from the temptation of evil.  In addition, she got priority with Him and all the love she ever wanted.  What did He give you?  Angst and conflict and rejection from those whose love you sought.  I'm sorry, Kay, but God, just like everyone else, has picked Charity, and you never even had a chance."

            _Oh no, Kay thought, finally bursting into heavy sobs, an uncontrollable surge of tears flooding down her cheeks, __she's right.  __Even God doesn't want me, has never wanted me.  "What can I do, then?" she asked desperately as soon as she could muster enough breath to speak._

            "Kay," Cassandra intoned, with an obvious excitement in her tone, as if she had waited for a very long time to speak the words that she was about to utter.  "You are powerful, far more so than you know.  You possess a strength that still lies mostly dormant, but that calls out almost deafeningly to me.  I know that you never fully accepted my explanation of why I had you made the Crane heir, and you were right to doubt.  You see, you are not merely the heir in the limited sense that Alistair and the others understand.  Not many years after I was turned, I began to work towards the betterment of my family.  I sought out advice, read all the relevant texts, and even consulted soothsayers at one point.  Most of what they had to tell me was absolute rubbish, which my vampire senses could easily distinguish, but one of them was able to give me a true prophesy: if I survived long enough, I would eventually find among my descendents a True Heir.  That True Heir would have great power, drive, and a certain intangible something that I would effortlessly pick up on.  Together, the two of us would at last complete the Crane ascendancy.  Well, Kay, I've been waiting ever since, until now.  I had resigned myself to the fact that this generation of Cranes was another wash, but fortuitously you were revealed to us.  You are my True Heir, Kay; all you have to do now is accept it."

            "Me?" was all Kay could respond, struck dumb with shock.

            "Yes, of course.  As I said, you and you alone qualify."  Cassandra's words were smooth now, tempting.  "Just think: you'll have unlimited power over all who've wronged you and you'll never have to worry about being good again."

            The tears were gone now; instead her mind had opened up to the endless possibilities that now lay before her.  What she wanted, she could take, and none lived who would be able to stop her.  Her eyes darkened and her heart hardened as she, without hesitation, responded, "I'll do it."

(A/N: _Risipiti-va__, puteri furate!—Romanian, loosely translated: "Be vanished, stolen powers!"  Translation courtesy of my Romanian suitemate.  Thanks, Ruxy! ;-)  )_


	23. The Prosaically Named Chapter 23

(A/N: Sorry about the ridiculously long wait between chapters here.  It was a combination of an insane schedule and plain ol' writer's block, but I'm back on track here and hopefully won't lag behind this badly again.)

            Laura Bennett found Jessica standing near a wall in the living room, not surprisingly all by herself.  "So," Laura greeted her, disappointed, "I take it you haven't made a play for Reese yet tonight?"

            Jessica sighed.  "No, I haven't.  What am I supposed to do?  Go up to him and say, 'Kay never actually cared about you, you were just a decoy so that she could plot to steal Miguel without suspicion, but I'm in love with you so maybe you'd like to go out with me instead'?  I really don't think that'd get me very far!"

            Laura rolled her eyes.  "Of course not, but you should start by trying to spend as much time with him as possible, flirting subtly, so that when he finds out and begins to get over her, he can gradually come to notice you in a 'more than friends' sort of way."

            "I'm SO not good at any of that!" Jessica protested emphatically.  "I'd just make an idiot out of myself."  As she talked with Laura, though, she could sense that her sister was trying to conceal some strong emotion.  "Hey, what's wrong?  I can't put my finger on it, but you just look really upset about something.  Are you alright?"

            "Yeah, I'm fine, I don't know what you're talking about," Laura said hurriedly but somewhat shakily.  "Anyway, that's a non-issue right now.  The important thing is that you get Reese—"

            "Get me what?" Reese asked, having seemingly joined them out of nowhere.  "What are you guys talking about?"

            "Um, well, you see…" Laura started.

            "A birthday present!" Jessica finished for her.

            "A birthday present?" Reese asked, taken aback.

            "We were trying to be secretive about it, but you found us out!  The two of us are going in on a gift.  I don't know why you should be so surprised; after all, your birthday _is next week," Jessica remarked._

            "Yeah, but we've never gotten each other anything before!"

            "I know, but this is the big one, your 18th birthday.  It's special.  And besides," Jessica smiled nervously, "you've been a really good friend, when you haven't been ranting about Tabitha and Timmy, that is."

            Reese blushed a little.  "Aw, thanks Jessica, that's really sweet of you.  Though you know, I saw Tabitha and her nephew just now and they were—"

            Laura, by now not only used to but also highly amused by Reese's wild theories about her neighbors, nodded to him encouragingly, but Jessica clearly did not feel like another round of his ridiculous notions.  "REESE!" she yelled severely.

            "Okay, okay!  I'll stop!" Reese promised reluctantly.  "Say, Laura, why would you get me a present?  We barely even know each other."

            "I, uh, I just thought that I should try and be more open with everybody, since this is my life now, and you've been really nice to me, so I thought it would be a good gesture.  I'm sorry if you think it's really weird," Laura added, knowing that the last bit would definitely win her believability points.

            "No, not at all," Reese assured her kindly.  "That's perfectly understandable, and very sweet.  So, have, uh, either of you seen Kay?"

            "Yes, I met her about ten minutes ago," Laura said simply, in a tone that dissuaded either of them from questioning her further.  "Have you been having trouble getting to her?"

            Reese nodded despondently.  "I saw her a couple of times, but by the time I made my way through the crowd, she was gone.  She must be completely bombarded with people wanting to speak with her, and unable to get away from them.  I'd better go and find Kay now, and assure her that I haven't abandoned her."

            Reese took his leave, and both girls breathed a sigh of relief.  

            "Whew!" exclaimed Jessica.  "That was close!  And what was with all that shy, 'I hope you don't think I'm weird' stuff?  You knew exactly how to play that lie!"

            "Yeah, well, you don't get to be raised a Crane without learning how to be somewhat devious," Laura explained casually.  "It really comes in useful at times, too.  You weren't bad yourself, actually.  I liked the way you subtly hinted at how important he is to you.  A good start, and not too obvious."

            Jessica didn't seem terribly convinced.  "Thanks, but you heard him.  He's run off to be with Kay again."

            "Well, you can't expect too much at first.  I'm not a miracle worker.  However, I have a feeling that his 'relationship' with Kay won't be much of an issue after he actually manages to speak with her."

            "Oh, she's going to break his heart!" the younger sister grimaced.

            "Unfortunately, yes," Laura acknowledged, feeling genuinely sorry for the guy.  "However, you'll be there for him, and eventually he'll see you in a new light."

            "I wish I was as sure about that as you are."

            Laura shot her sister a stern look.  "Stop being so hard on yourself.  You're pretty, smart, and interesting when you're not doing the perfect happy daughter routine.  Also, the two of you have chemistry; he just needs a little encouragement to see that."

            Their conversation was abruptly interrupted, though, when a honey-blonde girl of about their age decked out in an extremely expensive-looking gown grabbed Laura and forcibly hugged her.

            "Sophie!" Laura gasped out feebly while fighting for breath.

            "Laura!" Sophie cried melodramatically as soon as she let Laura go.  "It's all just so tragic, to find out you're not actually a Crane!  We all miss you so much!  How are you holding up on the other side?"  She asked her question with as much gravity as if Laura had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

            "I'm surviving, Sophie, thank you," Laura replied politely.

            "I admire your bravery," Sophie uttered gravely.  "So, who is this you're talking to?  Is this one of the people in your new life?  She doesn't look at all familiar."

            Dutifully, Laura introduced the two.  "Sophie, this is Jessica Bennett, my sister, as it turns out.  Jessica, this is Sophie Remington, of the Philadelphia Remingtons," she made sure to include, as if she'd been reminded of that fact on many an occasion.  "We went to school together."

            "It's nice to meet you," Sophie shook Jessica's hand gingerly, but didn't bother to look away from Laura.  "I think that's so sweet, Laura, that you're actually making the effort to get to know her."

            "She _is my sister, Sophie, so I don't see anything particularly noble about talking to her."_

            Apparently, Laura's comment passed right over the young socialite.  "So, I take it you're not coming to Rutland this fall, due to your circumstances?"

            Laura shook her head.  "There's no way, I have nothing to my name.  My old family has no interest in providing me with any assistance anymore, and my new family could never pay it, and even if they could, I wouldn't feel right about taking it from them in this situation."

            "Oh, it just won't be the same without you!  And after you graduated at the top of our class, too!" Sophie cried, looking as if she was about to burst dramatically into tears, until something else caught her attention.  "Oh, look, there's Elizabeth Jacobs, and will you look at that awful dress she's got on?!  She might as well wear a skinned cat!  I'd better go and greet her."

            As soon as Sophie had left, Jessica laughed nervously.  "Well, she was…interesting."

            Laura smiled through gritted teeth.  "Oh, how I hate that harebrained two-face."

            "You do?" Jessica questioned, surprised.  "She acted as if the two of you had been the best of friends."

            "Oh, we were," Laura assured her.

            "_Why?"                                                                                           _

            "As a Crane daughter, if you want to get along without any trouble, you learn what and who you have to put up with and you do it.  The Remingtons are an important family who have frequent business dealings with the Cranes.  Therefore, it was prearranged that we would be friends, and it was easier to socialize with her than to go through the trouble of rebelling.  The two of us even toured Europe together during a couple of summers."

            "Wow, you must've gone crazy!" Jessica exclaimed.

            "You get used to it," Laura shrugged noncommittally.  "Anyways, it was better than going home and watching Mo—, er 'Ivy,' fawn over Ethan while Julian kept himself too busy chasing after the maids to even notice my existence.  I usually went on trips during school breaks; being a Crane, there was never any shortage of invitations from girls whose fathers wanted to get on good terms with my family."

            "Didn't _anybody just want to be your friend?" Jessica asked, suddenly glad to be middle class._

            "Oh, there were a few, but not many.  It's easy to tell, now.  Those who actually care took the trouble to contact me here, and a couple of them have promised to visit me.  As for the rest, you have to realize that these are girls who would fly to Paris just to eat at a certain restaurant, and they haven't even bothered to phone me.  This is the first I've heard from Sophie since the accident."

            "That's awful, and you hardly ever came home?  I'd love to go to Europe and everything, but I certainly wouldn't trade."

            "Hey, don't feel sorry for me," Laura insisted.  "I was a Crane, after all.  I was just about to start college at an elite school, and after I survived that stupid sorority I'd have to join, I would have gotten my trust money, and then I would've been free from it all.  It's not like the Bennett house is 1950's sitcom perfection, either.  We're illegitimate, we've got TWO half-brothers, Mother has amnesia and makes us eat that awful food while perpetually obsessing over Charity, according to just about everybody that I've talked to the whole family is a magnet for 'evil forces,' and my old mother continually schemes to steal my new father away.  I guess I can see why you like to live in denial.  It's much nicer if you pretend that everything's just great."

            "Hey!" Jessica felt obligated to defend her family.  "It's not that bad, and at least you don't have to put up with people like Sophie any more."

            "That is one advantage," Laura admitted.  "You know, I'm breaking my code by saying this, but you're alright.  Definitely an improvement over my old sisters."

            "Really?" Jessica asked, curious.  "Are they like you?"

            Scoffing, Laura replied, "Hardly.  Trust me, if you think Sophie's bad, you REALLY don't want to meet them.  They're much more intelligent, but far less pleasant."

            "Yuck.  That must be awful."  Then, Jessica happened to throw a glance into the adjoining parlor room.  "Oh My God!  What's going on over there?!"

            Turning her head, Laura gasped at the sight that befell her.  "The hell?!  It looks like our father and that Mr. Russell—and they're trying to kill each other!"  Not wasting a second, the two girls ran over to see what was going on.

*****     

            Sam and TC were indeed engaged in a violent fistfight, surrounded by an ever growing crowd of spectators.  Several people had tried to break them up, to no avail.  Desperately wanting an explanation, Jessica and Laura ran to the nearest person they knew—Ethan, who stood just outside of the fray with a sour expression and a bloodied nose from a misplaced right hook of TC's.  "What on earth is going on?" Jessica asked.

            Wincing from the pain as he turned to look at them, Ethan replied, "Hello, Jess, Laura.  I don't know.  All I heard was Dad yelling, 'Nobody talks about my kid that way!' and he started pummeling Coach Russell!  I tried to stop them, but they're not exactly open to reason right now!"

            Having overheard Jessica's question, the nearby Grace, predictably in hysterics, answered, "We were just dancing, and then TC bumped into us.  He said he and his family were leaving the party, and we should too, because this house is pure evil.  Then, he said that we should be glad that Kay isn't ours because she's pure evil, too.  I was upset, but Sam went nuts!  He started yelling that he's had enough of TC and his judgmental temper, and took off on him.  I'm so frightened Sam will get hurt!"

            "Uh, Mother," Laura chimed in calmly, "I don't think you need to worry about _Father getting hurt."_

            Laura was in fact right, for as the fight went on, it became evident that Sam had the upper hand.  Although he looked slightly battered, his injuries were nothing compared to TC, who was now suffering from a black eye, a nose similar to Ethan's, and various other injuries, many of which would leave some nasty-looking bruises.  Taking a hard punch to the gut, TC finally fell to his knees, sputtering uselessly.  Seeing that TC could no longer fight, Sam stopped the attack, and coldly seethed, "Don't you EVER talk about her that way again."

            TC laughed, his laughter soon turning into a cough from his injuries.  "I was only trying to warn you, man.  The girl's evil."

            "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

            "Fine, have it your way," TC replied with difficulty as Eve helped him to his feet.  "But I'm getting my family out of here right now."  He quickly glanced over his family: Eve looking worried and embarrassed, Simone avoiding all eye contact with her head hanging down, and Whitney standing next to Chad, both of them looking utterly mortified about everything.  "C'mon, everybody, we're going."

            Whitney, sick of always being ordered around by her father, and still horrified that her sister had been so readily cleared of all responsibility after trying to kill her, decided that she finally had enough.  "No, Daddy, I'm gonna stay here.  I don't feel like going home right now, and I haven't even had a chance to talk to Theresa tonight."

            TC glared even harder, completely astounded that his always dutiful daughter had openly disobeyed him.  "Whitney," he said, his voice violently low, "I said that we're going."

            Gathering up her courage, Whitney stood her ground.  "And I said that I'm not ready to go yet.  I'm an adult, and can go or stay as I want to.  Plus, I'm not so sure that Kay was behind what happened out back, and I really don't feel like being around Simone right now."

            TC fumed, too angry to say anything other than a furious, "Fine!", and stormed out of the mansion, Eve and Simone following him.

            One by one, the satisfied crowd dispersed.  "So," one man was heard asking, "Do you have any idea what just happened here?"

            "No," his female companion commented, sounding pleased.  "Still, that was quite a welcome little diversion."

            "Oh, yes," the man agreed.  "I've heard some very interesting things about Crane parties, and I would've been very disappointed if nothing unexpected had happened."

*****

            Surreptitiously, Theresa ushered Chad and Whitney into an unoccupied room.  "Guys, what was that all about?!" she asked as soon as they were in.

            With no small amount of anger in his voice, Chad explained the whole chain of events leading to the fight as well as he could, though he obviously did not understand the full story behind all of the bizarre occurrences.

            Wide-eyed, Theresa gave a low whistle.  "Wow, I mean, I don't know what I was expecting, but not that!  If it hadn't been for the demons attacking the Bennett house, or me taking that trip through Hell, I wouldn't be able to believe this.  I knew Simone was really upset over you two getting together, but I never thought that she'd actually try to kill you, Whit!"

            Still shaking a little, Whitney lowered her eyes.  "I didn't think so either, though I don't think she was really her normal self, what with the cackling and the powers and everything."

            Theresa frowned.  "But neither of you think that Kay was involved in making her do those things?"

            "I don't know what to believe," Chad remarked.  "I guess it's possible, but you shoulda seen the look on her face when Coach Russell blamed her.  Only an innocent person could look THAT enraged when getting accused of something."

            Emphatic, Whitney nodded in agreement.  "I don't think it was her fault at all.  But try telling that to Daddy when he's on one of his anti-Crane kicks.  We'll probably never know what really happened now."

            The wheels in Theresa's head turned furiously as she tried to process all of this.  "Whether or not she caused it, Kay had to be involved somehow if she knew how to stop Simone.  Something strange is going on with her, and I'd better find out what."

            The slightly diabolical tone in Theresa's voice made Whitney distinctly uneasy.  "Why, Theresa, what do you have against Kay?"

            "Nothing, specifically, against _her," Theresa explained evenly, "but I have everything against Ivy.  Unfortunately, Kay actually seems to like her new mother, God knows why, and she's preventing me from taking out my revenge.  Therefore, we've become enemies, and I need to keep tabs on her."_

            "Theresa, you'd better give up this revenge thing right now!" Whitney insisted, alarmed.

            "Yeah," agreed Chad, "messing with the Crane heir is definitely not a good idea; there's no way you can win."

            "I don't care who either of them are," Theresa replied unreasonably.  "If it weren't for Ivy, Ethan and I might be together right now, and she even had me killed!  If I'm stuck here, I'm at least going to make her suffer just as much as I am."

            Trying to calm down her somewhat delirious friend, Whitney soothingly said, "Maybe, maybe it's not over between you and Ethan.  He still wants to marry you; maybe someday you'll be able to get away from the Cranes."

            "What fairy land are you living in, Whitney?" Theresa laughed.  Then, not oblivious to the irony of her last statement, she added, "The old me must have rubbed off on you or something, because next thing you'll probably be going on and on endlessly about Fate."

            Bristling slightly, Whitney defended herself.  "Well, maybe you were right before, Theresa.  I mean, I didn't think that Chad and I would ever get together, but you kept insisting we would, and here we are, and everybody knows about it, so no matter what happens, there won't be any hiding.  I also didn't think that Ethan would ever want you back, but he's still in love you and would marry you in a second if you could get that divorce.  Maybe you should just have faith that this is the last of many roadblocks for you two, and everything will work itself out."

            "No," Theresa shook her head decisively.  "This won't change; it's either Ethan or my baby, and I chose my baby.  I don't believe in Fate anymore, and even if it does exist, it's just some force playing with us for its amusement.  I can't fight it, but I sure as hell can wreak vengeance on everybody who helped it along."

*****

            Slowly, Kay reentered the party, her dignified gait and quiet air of power eliciting notice wherever she went.  The change wrought on her since her acceptance could not be seen on the surface, but could be felt by all who saw her.

            As she looked around her, Kay felt a confidence and an inner peace that she could not remember ever possessing.  Everything seemed so clear now; her purpose in life had been discovered, and all of her guilt and inner turmoil seemed to melt away in the clarity of the knowledge she now possessed.

            It was in this frame of mind that Reese finally managed to catch up with her.  Panting slightly, Reese grinned practically from ear to ear.  "Oh, Kay, I've missed you so much!  I've been trying to contact you, but I've never been able to get through.  Don't worry, though; I know the truth, and your family won't ever be able to split us up.  We love each other, and we'll get through it."  Then, suddenly noticing her intangible change in demeanor, he remarked, "Wow, there's something about you that just seems different.  It must be everything that's happened, what with being the Crane heir now.  I just want you to know that I don't feel threatened by you; I love you just the way you are."

            He moved in to kiss her, but Kay pushed him away.  Upon seeing his confused expression, her features contorted into something cold, barely recognizable as human.  "You really don't get it, do you?"

            "What do you mean, my sweet Kay?" Reese asked, a small knot of dread beginning to form in the pit of his stomach.

            Getting an idea, Kay decided to change tactics.  Seductively, Kay moved in on him until her face was only inches away from his.  After gazing meaningfully into his eyes for a long instant, her lips joined his for a long, slow kiss.  She was rewarded when she felt his uneasiness dissolve instantly, replaced with a palpable joy and relief.  Kay stretched the moment out cruelly, only to break away suddenly with a mocking laugh, leaving him gasping for breath.

            "You really are an idiot!" she sneered, reveling in his total bafflement.  "Alright, let me spell it out for you: I am not now nor have I ever been your 'sweet Kay'!  I don't love you, have never loved you!  In fact, I think you're the biggest loser I've ever met, and I only pretended to date you because I couldn't figure out how to get rid of you!"

            Trembling and looking as if he had been kicked in the stomach, Reese grabbed Kay's arm.  "You don't know what you're saying!  I know, the Cranes must have brainwashed you!  I've been reading up on the different techniques, and there are several that they could use to—"

            "Shut up," Kay ordered as she easily twisted her arm out of his grip.  "I don't need to be brainwashed to see how pathetic you are.  In fact, I'd have to be under mind control to even tolerate you!"  Seeing tears well up in his eyes, Kay smiled, satisfied.  "Now, go away, before I have security throw you out for stalking me."

            Unable to summon up the will to form any words, Reese turned around and ran away, obviously determined to put as much distance between himself and her as he could.  Although she snickered as she watched the boy who had irritated her for so long flee brokenhearted, she gradually became aware of the smallest prick of guilt trying to ruin her fun.  Mentally cursing, Kay tried to ignore it; after all, she was the True Heir, bringer of evil and all that, and she wasn't supposed to get all remorseful just for hurting someone's feelings.  Nevertheless, there her conscious was, doing battle with the darkness that had set in since she had aligned herself with Cassandra.

            _It's just doing this out of habit, Kay reassured herself.  __Some sort of residual effect.__  It'll get less and less noisy with time, and eventually go away.  All I have to do is ignore it._

_*****_

_            As Kay resumed walking, she was so busy concentrating on not feeling guilty that she practically ran into Miguel and Charity, who were currently engaged in a playful argument about which one loved the other more._

            "No, Charity, there's no possible way that you love me more than I love—Kay!" Miguel exclaimed, suddenly noticing Kay.

            "Huh?" Charity said, confused and perturbed, until she too realized that Kay was there.  "Oh, hello again, Kay," Charity greeted her, shivering automatically at her presence.

            "Hi guys," Kay shot them a forced smile, no longer jealous, but still extremely irritated by their saccharine antics.  "Enjoying the party, I hope?  I'm awfully sorry about bolting earlier, but there was some stuff I had to do."

            "Oh, no problem," Miguel replied reassuringly.  "We understand that you're really busy now.  Don't we, Charity?  Uh, Charity?  **_Charity?!" Miguel repeated loudly when Charity failed to respond to his question, instead staring off into space with an expression of growing fear._**

            "What?  Oh, yes, of course," she replied at last, her voice dazed and far away.  "I'm sorry, it's just that I suddenly got this overwhelming sense of that rising evil I've been getting premonitions about!  This house, Miguel, the evil is in this house!"

            Miguel wrapped his arms around his hysterical girlfriend, trying to calm her down.  "I'm sure it's not anything more than what you always feel at the Crane mansion.  Haven't you said that there's always been something off about it?"

            "Yes, Miguel, but it's more than that.  It's gotten a lot stronger, more obvious, and now it comes with this sense that something awful has begun to build itself up."

            "C'mon Charity, you must be imagining all of this," Kay smiled at her again, the grin wide and superficially comforting, and yet somehow vaguely threatening.  "I've been living here for several weeks now, and I think I would know if something evil was starting up right here under my roof!"

            Charity wanted to believe Kay, but something about her ex-cousin was extremely disturbing to the teen psychic, and this made her remember her earlier premonition that Kay would have something to do with the evil.  Surely there couldn't be something wrong with her?  She nervously glanced at Miguel, who was currently grinning broadly, obviously in complete acceptance of Kay's assurance.  _Well, if the evil I'm sensing is really this evident, surely he'd be able to tell that something's not right, too, Charity rationalized to herself.  "Yeah, I guess I'm just a little paranoid right now, after everything that's happened to us already."_

            "It's perfectly understandable," Miguel said.  "After all, you were trapped in a block of ice for months until a few weeks ago.  That's bound to make anybody a little skittish.  You shouldn't worry, though.  Evil's taken its best shots at trying to split us up, but we're still together.  There's nothing we can't overcome with the power of our love.  As a matter of fact, I don't even think anything will be coming after us.  It's probably just given up by now."

            Charity nodded in agreement, secretly far from convinced.  Miguel then embraced her, but while he did so, she couldn't help staring at Kay, still smiling that same smile, not changing at all in appearance, and yet somehow becoming more and more sinister by the second.

*****

            Nothing more of note happened at the party and the residents of Harmony slowly trickled back to their homes in the late hours of the night.  David Hastings went right to bed, hoping to escape his troubled state of mind for a few hours at least in slumber.

            Unfortunately, sleep did not overtake him easily.  His recently ambivalent attitude towards Grace confused him, as did his increasingly fond feelings for this version of Ivy.  Tossing and turning, David didn't think that he would ever actually get to sleep, but he slowly drifted into a fitful, dream-ridden doze…

            _He was returning home, after a hard day of work, though the exact specifications of that home were, as always, hazy and blurry, not essential to the overall picture, because it wasn't where he was that was important, but who he was with._

_            As he had a thousand times before, he heard her in the other room: it was Grace, his wife, and she was waiting for him.  Grinning contentedly, he called to her, walking briskly to greet her as soon as he could, and found her in the other room, but where he usually found her facing him, beautiful and ecstatic to see him, she instead stood behind a strange sort of thin, semitransparent curtain, her features effectively obscured by the fabric._

_            Not put off too much by this slight variation of his usual dream, David rushed over Grace and removed the shroud, only to find that it had concealed not Grace, but Ivy, gazing at him with an exhilarating mix of fiery passion and warm tenderness that Grace had never, not even in his wildest dream, been able to come close to matching!_

_            For a second, the sight of the "wrong" woman in his usual fantasy bothered David, but, as it was a dream after all, he forgot all about this cast change almost instantly.  Wasting no time at all, they kissed passionately, and it was, if anything, even more exciting than that stolen, insane kiss in the library.  All too soon, they parted, and David made to embrace her again, but this time she failed to respond, glancing up at him with a profound sadness._

_            "What's wrong, love?" David asked sincerely, suddenly reeling from a cold stab of fear.  "C'mon, Ivy, you can tell me."_

_            "Oh, David, I have to go away so soon," Dream Ivy replied, barely able to look him in the eye._

_            "But, why?" David asked desperately, though he somehow felt that he already knew the answer.  "Why do you have to go away?  I love you, Ivy!"_

_            "I know," she whispered sadly.  "And I wish I could stay, I really do.  But I don't belong here.  You know that, David."_

_            "No!" David yelled, refusing to believe her.  "You **do belong here, and you can't leave me!  Don't you love me, too?"**_

_            "Of course I do!" she almost-hissed at him with a little of her trademark venom in her tone, her voice rife with urgency as she seemed to be getting fainter and fainter by the second.  "But that doesn't change the facts.  You know **I can't stay; you've always known that.  However, and I have to say this fast because there's not much time left, there's still hope.  You have to remember that—"**_

_            Dream Ivy never got a chance tell David what he had to remember, though, because she disappeared entirely in the middle of her sentence, leaving a frantic David yelling after her.  "No! Ivy!   Come back!  You can't go away yet!"  You…"_

            David jumped up in his bed, his breath catching in his throat and his heart pumping rapidly.  Had he been yelling out loud?  He didn't know but he had the uneasy feeling that he had.  It took a few moments for the overpowering fear of his dream to subside enough for him to figure out what the hell had just happened.

            He could keep on denying it if he wished to, but there was really no point anymore.  He had to admit that the surprise he'd gotten in the dream upon seeing Ivy instead of Grace was a pleasant one; in fact, if he was perfectly honest, he'd been downright relieved upon seeing the true identity of the woman.  Furthermore, that dream had brought to the surface a range of emotions he hadn't even known he had, and all that desire, fire, concern, and, yes, love, dwarfed whatever it was he had previously felt for Grace.  Shaking his head in utter disbelief, he finally came to terms with his revelation—he was desperately in love with Ivy!

            Of course, this realization only complicated everything.  After all, it wasn't the Ivy who actually existed in the present that he loved, but a ghost from the past, not long for this world.  He certainly didn't love Ivy Crane: no, despite a certain attraction that had always existed underneath the hatred, he did loathe her.  She was, after all, a monster, and although he now felt a bit of pity for whatever was left of the woman he loved still residing inside that warped creature, he couldn't imagine having any real feelings for her.

            And what about Ivy Winthrop?  "Hah," David laughed to himself, "she might not even exist for much longer; hell, she shouldn't even exist now.  Falling in love with the nineteen year-old version of your current archenemy?  Really smart, Hastings.  Well, you've always gone for the unattainable women, so at least you're consistent."

            David grimaced, knowing full well that if the spell for bringing back Ivy Crane is ever found, he would lose her forever.  Well, maybe not, maybe enough of Ivy Winthrop would be left over to change her, make her actually human again.  Of course, there was no way of knowing that until the spell was actually cast, and there was no way that she would be the same as she was now. 

            Then again, there was always the possibility that they would never be able to do the counter-spell.  No, he decided after getting his hopes up for a moment, she'd only stay miserable and hopeless, and he was pretty sure that he would never get her that way.  After all, from her point of view he was this older man helping her out, but not someone she'd ever think to be attracted to, especially with her relationship with Sam so recent from her perspective.  David was not unaware of the irony of his situation: he had more of a chance with the evil version of Ivy than the good one, the one he loved!  At least she must be attracted to him on some bizarre level.

            Laying back down, David spent a sleepless night trying to come to grips with everything, but unable to find any kind of resolution to this nightmare.


	24. The Prosaically Named Chapter 24

(A/N: Last chapter, after not updating for a month, I promised that future waits would not be as long.  Unfortunately, it's been even longer this time, as I hadn't figured in the hectic schedule of finals and the holidays.  Again, I tentatively promise that I will write more quickly in the future, though I can't be one hundred percent sure that I will always have the time.)

            "How much longer are we gonna hang around here?" Antonio asked bitterly as he surveyed the early morning Boston Harbor for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past several days.

            "As long as we need to," Nick answered cryptically, "and you'd better learn some patience.  I wouldn't want you getting all impatient and running off now.  I'd be hurt," he snickered," and when I'm hurt, I tend to lash out, which wouldn't be good for your fiancée or your brother."

            Antonio grimaced.  "Yeah, yeah, I kinda got the picture the first couple dozen times you made that threat.  I don't see why you can't at least have them put on the phone.  How do I know they're okay, anyway?"

            "You don't," Nick replied with a smile, neither his voice nor his face betraying the annoyance and anxiety he felt at the secretly held knowledge that his hostages had escaped a couple of days ago and were now at large.  "You have no choice but to take my word for it, cuz they certainly won't be if you don't do exactly as I tell you."

            "Well, will you at least tell me what we're doing?" Antonio implored restlessly.  "I'm gonna be risking my life here, and I'd kinda like to know what for, and what exactly is taking so long to arrange."

            "You'll know when you need to, and not a second before.  I'm disappointed in you, pal.  You should know me better than that, if you think I'd tell you every little bit of my plan right now."

            Smirking triumphantly, and knowing that, with or without Luis and Sheridan, he still had the upper hand, Nick escorted his prisoner back to his gang's headquarters.

*****

            At about that same time, Luis, Sheridan, Gwen, and Hank sat around a small table in the café restaurant of the hotel they were currently staying at.  The place wasn't anything fancy, but then again, neither was the hotel, a shabby little thing in an unassuming area of Boston; due to the nature of their stay, they didn't dare stay anywhere nicer, as it wouldn't do for Sheridan or Gwen to be recognized at such a time.  Even in their present surroundings, they thought it best to err on the side of caution, and so the women currently sported wide-brimmed hats and dark sunglasses.

            "So," Sheridan said, looking at Hank and Gwen, "did you guys have any luck last night?"

            "Actually, yes," Gwen replied, that self-satisfied smile once again stretching across her face.  Hank managed to get a hold of a recent cargo train shipment record, and it seems that several fairly large deliveries have been made to our good friend 'Nicholas Creighton'.  He'd tried to cover up his paper trail, of course, but it wasn't really hard to trace it back to him, really.  How about you guys?"

            "You know that possible lead we've all been going after?  That guy who'd had some dealings with Nick?" Luis asked.  When Hank and Gwen nodded, he continued, "Well, me and Sheridan caught up with him, and after a little coercion, he turned out to be very helpful.  Apparently, our friends are planning something a little bigger than we'd ever thought.  It seems that he's being paid a huge sum to smuggle weapons to a large terrorist organization in some South American country, possibly for future use against the United States.  I'd bet that the shipments you two discovered contained the contraband weapons."

            "And Antonio will be piloting the boat," Sheridan grimaced, none too pleased at the thought.  "We've got a bit of good news, though.  To have any hope of getting through, Nick seems to have picked a fairly small boat, not large enough to carry the entire cargo.  Therefore, he's forced to make two runs, meaning that he must store the remainder in a safe place.  Such coordination takes time, so he won't be able to go anytime soon.  The best we can guess is that the only reason he took Antonio with so soon was that he needed to supervise this himself, and Antonio was too important to entrust to his underlings."

            "Wow," Hank whistled.  "I knew it had to be major, but I didn't think it'd be like _this.  Weapons, terrorists, possible plots against the country, this is going to take a lot more planning than I thought."_

            "Yeah," agreed Gwen, slightly green in the face.   "I mean, we can't just grab Antonio and run, like we were going to do before.  Now, we actually have to stop this shipment from getting made!"

            Luis nodded in agreement, and then added, "Right, we do.  If we alert the authorities right now, it could tip off Nick, and then Antonio's as good as dead, plus he's got an entire armory at his back.  Somehow, we have to figure out a way to grab Antonio AND take control of the boat, knowing where the rest is stashed, sail safely away, and turn it in from there.  Luckily for us, as Sheridan's already said, time's on our side.  It'll be necessary to case the Harbor for any activity, but Sheridan and I can't risk Nick or his goons spotting us.  That means you and Hank will have to cover the waterfront, see if you can find out what's going on.  We'll try to work on a plan from here, but we have to make sure Nick doesn't know we're following him.  He must know we can't tell the police, so if we're lucky he'll just think we're out of the picture."

*****

            "Now what in Satan's name could this be?" Tabitha wondered as a scrap of yellowed parchment appeared out of thin air and promptly fell onto her lap.  "Well, there's nothing else for it, I guess.  I'd better see what it says."

            Timmy, who had been hard at work trying to decide on just the right angle for a sequel to the phenomenal, scintillating bestseller _Hidden Passions (now available in paperback featuring all-new red-hot material wherever fine books are sold),__ promptly stuffed his pen and paper in his pocket and looked up in concern when he heard Tabitha's agitated groan, and noticed that Tabitha looked none too pleased at whatever it was she was reading.  "What is it, Princess?  What's wrong now?" Timmy asked with concern and no small amount of apprehension._

            "It's Cassandra.  That virulent vampire wants me to meet her in her lair this afternoon, though why she doesn't say.  We've no choice but to go, I'm afraid."

            Timmy scrunched up his nose in confusion.  "Her lair?  She has a lair now?  When did she get a lair?"

            "Don't you remember, Batting for Brains, how I told you that the underground passages beneath the Crane mansion were originally built for Cassandra?  No doubt she's moved right back in."

            "But, then, how will we get there with nobody noticing?" Timmy, asked hurriedly.  The only entrance we know about is in the mansion."

            "I wouldn't worry about that right now," Tabitha couldn't help but laugh.  "Considering the constant stream of traffic in and out of that house, I seriously doubt anybody will pay any attention to us.  We should be able to sneak in quite easily, for whatever it is Cassandra has in mind."

*****

            Dr. Eve Russell was sitting at her kitchen table, eating her breakfast while looking through some papers when TC entered the room.  "And how is my perfect, angelic wife doing this morning?" he asked after giving her a good morning kiss.

            "She's doing…okay," Eve answered as she got a far-away look in her eyes, tormented by the burden of her torrid past that she dared not to share with her self-righteous husband.

            "What's that you're looking at?" TC questioned casually.  "Hospital paperwork?"

            "Not exactly," Eve replied nervously.  She knew that TC wouldn't like what he was about to hear, but it was an issue that just couldn't be ignored any more.  Not after last night.  "Honey, I'm looking into trying to find a good psychiatrist for Simone."

            "What for?!" TC demanded angrily, his cheerful, good-natured demeanor instantly replaced with defensive fury.  "There's nothing wrong with our little girl!"

            "Nothing wrong!" Eve exclaimed in disbelief.  "TC, she tried to kill Whitney last night.  This obsession with Chad is unhealthy, and that's an understatement.  She needs professional help."

            TC shook his head furiously, not liking what he heard.  "No, what she NEEDS is to steer clear of that evil Kay girl, and now that Simone knows to stay away from her, she'll be fine."

            Eve was not convinced.  "I know you think Kay's responsible, but it just doesn't add up."

            "I don't care!" TC insisted vehemently, slamming his fist down onto the table so hard that coffee from his mug splashed all over the table, nearly staining Eve's papers.  "Simone would _never have done something like that on her own, no matter how upset she was."_

            "Can you be so sure?" Eve countered in a reasonable yet firm tone.  "I love Simone, but she's been so hateful lately, so violent.  How many times in the last several weeks has she actually attacked Whitney?  Maybe you're right, maybe Simone wasn't at fault for what happened last night.  But she still needs counseling for her previous behavior."

            TC faltered for a moment, halted by the logic in her argument.  He still refused to admit, however, that his daughter might have a problem.  "Well, isn't it obvious, Eve?  Kay must have been influencing her all along, forcing her to act so uncontrollably," he offered lamely.

            Eve had had enough.  "Oh, yes, the girl has been exerting her evil Crane power the whole time, starting just minutes after she found out she _was a Crane, and has continued with this scheme, for no particular reason, during the insanity that the past few weeks must have been for her," the good doctor scoffed sarcastically.  "I can just see it now!"_

            "I wouldn't put it past a Crane," TC mused, his eyes clouding over as he obsessed bitterly over his hatred of the Cranes once again.  "I'm still positive that she's behind it all."

            "And if she's not?" Eve asked, staring seriously into TC's eyes.  "Whitney's life could be in danger.  Shouldn't we take every precaution that we can?"

            "Well, I certainly think so," came Whitney's voice as she and Chad bounded into the kitchen together before TC had a chance to respond.  "I've been feeling really guilty this whole time about the situation with Simone, but now she's gone too far."

            "Whitney, you better keeps your opinions to yourself," TC ordered in a commanding voice.  "Your mother and I are having a discussion, and it doesn't concern you."

            "Doesn't concern me?!" Whitney yelled, her anger at her father's attitude getting the better of her fear of him.  "_She tried to kill __me!  Now, I've never liked Kay, but I have to give credit where it's due, and as far as I'm concerned, she saved my life."_

            TC was about to really blow up, but then noticed something that he hadn't before.  "Say, why is Chad here, with you, right now at this hour of the day?"

            Hoping to defuse this potentially explosive situation, Chad interjected.  "I took Whitney to the recording studio, Coach Russell," he explained.  "See, I wrote a song for Whitney, and I wanted her to be able to hear it."

            "That's so sweet, Chad," Eve said approvingly, but couldn't say anything further before TC banged his fist forcefully on the table yet again.

            "It might be sweet, but it's not going to help Whitney win Wimbledon.  I'm disappointed in you, Whit; you should have been out practicing since the crack of dawn."

            "I was going to practice today," Whitney insisted nervously.  "I came back just now to change and then hit the courts."

            TC, not persuaded, shook his head.  "I'm sorry, baby, but that's just not good enough.  If you're going to play in a grand slam, then you can't sit around and listen to silly songs that some boy writes you.  I hate to say this, but I think you've just proven that you can't juggle both boys and tennis.  We've worked too hard for this for you to just throw it all away now."

            "So what, am I just supposed to be married to my tennis racket?!" Whitney shouted with a ferocity that surprised everybody, especially her.  "I'll play tennis for you, Daddy, but I don't wanna give up everything else in my life to become a great player just because you couldn't be!"

            "And I couldn't because I hurt my leg, because the Cranes ruined my life!" TC bellowed, causing everyone else to shift uneasily.  "I could have gone all the way to the top if they hadn't sabotaged me, just like they're trying to hurt Simone now."

            "What if you had gotten there, Daddy?" Whitney challenged her father, refusing to be cowed into silence again.  "You never would have met Mom, or have had us.  Would you have _rather not had a family?"_

            "Of course not!  I love my perfect family."

            "Then, tennis isn't the most important thing in life," Whitney concluded, smiling a little in triumph.  "Love is more important.  I love Chad, and I'm still going to play tennis, but if I have to choose between the two, I'm choosing love.  Now, I'm going to go and practice now; plus, I really don't feel comfortable spending too much time here right now with Simone like this."  Having said her piece, Whitney stormed out of the kitchen.  Chad lingered a moment, as if trying to think of something soothing to say to TC, but then seemed to think better of it and followed Whitney.

            "Can you believe Whitney?" TC asked in disbelief.  "She's never had an attitude like that before.  It must be Chad's influence."

            Annoyed, Eve felt the need to defend her daughter.  "TC, I really don't think that she said anything so horrible.  Her actual points were that she has a right to a life outside of tennis, and that she doesn't like the fact that nothing's being done about Simone.  Both of which I, for one, have to agree with her on."

            "She never complained about tennis before, and she shouldn't talk that way about her sister when she knows perfectly well that it's not her fault!" TC, well beyond the point of reason, yelled out, the room resonating with his booming voice.

            "I didn't want to mention this before, **dear," Eve spat out, "but considering Simone's family background, it's hardly necessary to look for evil forces to explain her violent outburst.  In fact, maybe I should look into therapy for TWO people!"**

            Realizing that any further discussion with TC at this moment was useless, Eve grabbed her coat and headed off to work, leaving her husband to fume and vent without an audience.

*****

            "Hi, Laura," Grace said, darting her head into Laura and Jessica's room and spotting her all-too distant eldest daughter laying on her bed and reading.  "Is Jessica here?  I'm trying out a new recipe, and since Charity is out walking through the park with Miguel, I thought Jessica might like to help."

            "No, sorry, she's over at Reese's, trying to cheer him up after his break-up with Kay," the teen replied, looking up from her copy of _A Doll's House.  "I don't know when she'll be back."_

            "Oh, well, thank you anyway," Grace answered, lingering awkwardly for a moment, as if not knowing what to say.  Then, brightening up slightly, she asked, "Say, would you maybe like to try it out?"

            Laura, realizing instantly that her mother was attempting to turn the disappointment of lacking both Charity and the backup option of Jessica into an opportunity to for some mother-daughter bonding, was somewhat reluctant.  "Gee, I'd love to, but I don't think I'd be any help.  I've never cooked in my life.  In fact, I'm not even sure I could turn the stove on."

            "That's no problem at all," Grace replied, laughing perkily.  "I can teach you!  It'll be our special project.  All of us Standish women are natural cooks.  You'll be baking tomato soup cake in no time."

            _Oh, yay, just what I've always wanted to do with my life!, Laura thought sarcastically, but, not wanting to hurt Grace's feelings and unable to think up a good excuse, she agreed hesitantly.  She promptly found herself practically dragged downstairs and into the kitchen, where the sparklingly clean stove loomed before her, promising a seemingly endless afternoon of wacky culinary misadventures._

            "Alright, Mom, what are we making?" Laura used the term of endearment deliberately, as if attempting to deny to herself the hurt she had experienced the night before.

            Grace was taken aback for a second, surprised that Laura had called her "Mom" for the first time, but decided not to make a big deal out of it.  "Well, for dinner we're going fairly basic, with grilled chicken and rice and vegetables, but I thought for dessert we'd try something a little more adventurous: eggplant brownies."

            Laura barely managed to prevent the disgust from registering on her face.  "You're putting _eggplant in the brownies?  Should taste, uh, different."_

            "Yes, I thought so.  First, though, we'll boil the green beans.  See, you just set the stove to boil like this," she explained, flipping a switch.  "The temperature settings on this are very good, much better than on my old stove.  Well, I guess that just goes to show that at least _some good came out of our old house getting sucked into hell," she remarked with a light chuckle._

            Curious despite herself, Laura replied, "You know, I've heard that mentioned in passing several times.  What exactly _happened, anyway?"_

            Beginning to expertly dice vegetables, Grace grimaced a little at the memory.  "It was awful, and at such a bad time, too.  I had just suffered a miscarriage after finding out that Ethan is Sam's son, and our marriage was in shambles, since Sam **had to resolve his feelings for Ivy and I had trouble trusting him.  Meanwhile, it turned out that evil had somehow sucked Charity into her closet, which had turned into a portal to hell—"**

            "Charity was trapped in HELL?!" Laura interrupted in utter disbelief.  "How is she still alive, and, well, _here?"_

            "I'm not really sure, but Father Lonigan said that it takes awhile for a person to die there when they're thrown in physically."

            "He was there?" Laura asked, more and more confused.

            "Well, of course," Grace replied as if just stating what should be obvious to absolutely anybody.  "He's our _priest, and would of course be the resident expert about what to do in this situation.  He yelled at the demons and threw holy water into the closet.  We really should have called him in earlier, when the birds started attacking…"_

            "_Birds?" Laura was now wide-eyed, as she awkwardly began to dice some of the vegetables herself._

            "Oh, I didn't mention that?  A huge flock of ravens descended upon our home on New Year's; it was pretty scary," Grace said casually as she took the knife out of Laura's hands and showed her the proper way to hold it.  "Then, the walls started bleeding, which bothered us a little.  At the time, we decided that it had to be rust seeping through somehow, but, on reflection, it probably was blood."  Apparently, Grace didn't notice the horrified look Laura was now throwing her, stunned that this woman could talk about bleeding walls as if commenting that the price of bread had risen another quarter.

            "Anyway, we still couldn't get Charity out, so Reese went online to the Vatican website and found instructions to make Lucifer's Ladder, which is used to get people out of Hell—"

            "Wait a second," Laura intoned incredulously, "you expect me to believe that there's actually a procedure for GETTING PEOPLE OUT OF HELL, and that the Vatican keeps it on their website?!  I mean, even if such a thing exists, wouldn't it be on some ancient scroll in a vault, not readily available for download, and—oww!!" Laura had been so busy ranting that she hadn't paid attention to what she was doing, and had cut her left thumb instead of the carrot she had been aiming for.

            Concerned, Grace took her hand, ran it under cold water, and wrapped up her thumb in a bandage from the first-aid kit located conveniently under the sink.  "Kind of unbelievable, I know, but it was there.  The kids then made the Ladder, and Miguel went into Hell to rescue Charity," Grace explained as she handed Laura a potato peeler, hoping that she wouldn't hurt herself this time.  "He had her, but the demons attacked him, and he barely got out himself.  Miguel jumped in again, and Kay went in after him.  All the men then tried to fight, but the demons were too much, and Sam and your brother Ethan almost got pulled in themselves."

            "_Ethan was there, too?"_

            "Oh, yes, half the town showed up at some point.  He'd just found out that Kay was his half-sister, and he couldn't let anything happen to her, or to Theresa's brother.  Eventually, the demon attack got really strong, and we were all driven out of the house, which then got set on fire, so we couldn't get to the kids."

            "How'd they get out, then?" Laura asked, and then cursed when she managed to slice her right thumb with the peeler.

            Sighing, Grace repeated the first-aid procedure, and handed Laura a bowl of batter to mix.  "I don't really know, but something or someone intervened and got them out of Hell.  They were still trapped in the house, though, and we couldn't get to them.  They would have all died, except a light came to them and showed them the way out.  Just in time, too, because then the house fell into the ground, leaving an empty space where our home used to be."

            "Uh, wow," was all Laura could say, not knowing what was weirder, her mother's story, or the fact that the whole town didn't seem to be too effected by something like that.  "So, uh, this house isn't in, like, the same location or anything like that, is it?"

            "Well, of course it is!" Grace exclaimed right before she grabbed the batter, which was getting entirely too lumpy, and instead had Laura slowly stir the simmering vegetables.  "Why wouldn't it be?"

            "Well, it's just that it doesn't seem like a very safe place for us all to live, based on what you've just said," Laura pointed out nervously as she valiantly fought the urge to run out of the house screaming and never look back.

            "This is our home!" Grace argued adamantly.  "It's where Sam and I raised our family, and we're not giving up on it that easily."

            Looking all around her with a barely concealed alarm, Laura protested, "But, if there's really evil here, and I'm not saying that I believe any of that, and it seems to target Charity, then don't you think that you might be safer somewhere else?  And why are they after Charity, anyway?"

            "We figure it must be because she's so good at sensing evil.  I guess it just runs in my family, since I can sense it, and so could my sister Faith, apparently.  Who knows, maybe you have some sort of ability yourself."

            Just as she was about to vehemently deny such a possibility, Laura managed to splash the boiling hot water all over herself by stirring too quickly and proceeded to cry out in pain. Reflecting that Laura really wasn't kidding when she said that she couldn't cook, Grace tended to the burns while privately thinking that dinner tonight was going to prove quite a challenge.

*****

            At this time, Ivy, David, and Kay sat gathered in Kay's suite, busying themselves with the task of searching through dusty old volume after dusty old volume.  Kay knew that her training could begin at any time, and was determined to work on finding the counter-spell whenever she could.  Kay may have accepted her true calling, but though her soul had already darkened considerably, it was not yet bereft of all human feeling, and she still cared enough about her mother to want to get her back.

            Although neither David nor Ivy could actually detect a real change in Kay's behavior, remaining in the same room with her left them feeling distinctly chilled, as if a bitter wind was slowly cutting into them.  They could tell that the eerie presence was emanating somehow from Kay, but as neither could put their fingers on it, and both were a tad preoccupied with their own feelings, they tried to ignore it and chalk their unease up to their overactive imaginations.

            As is to be expected, David, was still reeling from the shock that he had fallen in love with Ivy.  He fully realized, of course, that due to the situation, it would be a complete folly to reveal or otherwise act upon his feelings, and so resigned himself to suffering in silence.  Making matters worse was the fact that he still had to see her frequently, had to be careful not to let slip and say how he really felt.  He actually thanked God for Kay's presence right now, because, as ill at ease as she was causing him to feel, it was still a thousand times better than finding himself in the awkward position of being alone with Ivy once again.

            Ivy, meanwhile, fought with all her strength to maintain her calm exterior that hid the total despondence that threatened to completely crush her spirit.  The sight of the man she loved so passionately, the only one she had ever made love to or could ever want to be with, dancing with another woman, happy without her, had tortured her relentlessly, and the knowledge that it had all been her own fault made it all the more unbearable.  Sam no longer loved her because of her own actions, because _she had abandoned him so that she could be Mrs. Crane, and had slowly become so twisted that he could no longer recognize the woman he had loved, even when she stood before him.  _

            As if that weren't enough to be tormented by, Ivy now understood that, should they succeed in finding the right counter-curse, her days were in essence over.  The prospect had at first understandably terrified her, and thinking about it still left a knot in her stomach.  However, when she mulled over the alternative, living however long this body lasted crippled, alone, friendless, and hated by all decent people, she could not help but come to the conclusion that it would be better to just get it over with.  Whatever happened to her, anything was better than remaining in this state of virtual limbo.

            Looking up in frustration from yet another ultimately useful text, Ivy voiced such a thought, briefly noticing that her words had left a singularly odd expression on David's face.  _Hmm, must be he's not looking forward to getting blackmailed by Ivy Crane once more, Ivy rationalized.  __Gee, I really hope I don't go and do it after he's been so helpful to me._

_            "Yeah, well, it looks like that might not be an issue after all." Kay sounded irritated, and tired.  David, on the other hand, could not help perking up slightly at her declaration._

            "You mean, you don't think we'll find the spell at all?" Ivy asked forlornly.  It figured; just as she had come to accept and even wish for the reversal, she'd be told that it couldn't be done!

            "I honestly don't know," Kay admitted regretfully, forcefully tossing a large black leather-bound book away in annoyance.  These are the last volumes I have for us to look through, and if we don't happen to luck out with these, I'll have no idea where to even begin searching for your cure.  I'm sorry, but unless a miracle happens, you could be stuck like this forever."

*****

            "Well Tabitha!" Cassandra exclaimed happily, "I'm so pleased you could make it.  I see you've managed to find my little hideaway."

            "Yes, and none too easily," Tabitha replied grumpily, slightly out of breath, as was Timmy.  "Did you have to choose the most out of the way, hard to find cavern in the whole network to set yourself up in?"

            Cassandra chuckled good-humoredly.  "Why, it certainly wouldn't do to have an easily accessible secret lair.  I need to instruct my Heir in complete security and privacy, after all.  This has been my own private library and workshop for generations, so I thought it would be appropriate."

            "So, I guess Kay is now officially your Heir, then," Tabitha observed with trepidation.  Indeed, the whole cavernous room did seem to be set up for tutelage in the Dark Arts.  Surrounding the three was a fairly impressive library, made up almost entirely of ancient-looking texts and scrolls.  Also visible were numerous magical instruments and artifacts of various kinds: cauldrons, crystal balls, and racks for ingredients shared space with more obscure devices.  Tabitha hoped that Timmy would remember to behave himself and not poke his nose in where it doesn't belong and set something off.

            "But of course, Tabitha, and what a fine girl she is!  I really couldn't have asked for a better Heir," Cassandra answered with a hint of genuine pride.  "I'm beginning her lessons today.  That's actually why I summoned you here, my good friend."

            "I'm afraid I don't follow you," the witch admitted.  "I don't know where I fit in here.  I lifted the curse as you demanded.  What could you possibly need from me?"

            "Advice," the vampire replied matter-of-factly.  "You see, Kay's climb to the top will not happen without a fight, and the forces of good seem to be stationed here in Harmony almost as strongly as those of your bosses.  If I'm to prepare Kay to face them, I need to have a better understanding of just how they work, and seeing as you're currently on the front line, I thought you might be a good consultant."

            "Is that all?" Tabitha asked, privately thinking that that was a pretty flimsy reason to bring her in.

            "Not quite," Cassandra admitted nonchalantly.  "There is one more thing, but I'd rather discuss it without the, uh, audience," she explained, gesturing towards Timmy.

            "Timmy and his Princess are a team!" the boy exclaimed indignantly, resenting the implication that he would not be privy to something vital.

            "He's right," Tabitha stated, glaring at Cassandra.  "Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of my Timmy."

            Cassandra laughed scornfully.  "Oh, really?  Are we talking about the same "lad" who has repeatedly betrayed you, has repeatedly saved that Charity girl, and others, against your explicit command, and who has even forced you to rescue your own mortal enemy?  I'm terribly sorry, but I'd prefer that what I have to discuss remains between us two.  He can stay here; we'll speak in an adjoining chamber."

            "Oh, alright," Tabitha relented reluctantly.  "I'll be back in a few minutes, Tim Tim.  In the meantime, do try to stay out of trouble."

*****

            No sooner had Tabitha and Cassandra left, however, than Timmy had immediately begun to explore the chamber.  He had never seen such a wide array of strange and powerful-looking gadgets and objects, and could not help being fascinated by them.

            Searching the room methodically, Timmy had before long examined as much as he could without actually touching anything.  Impulsive he may be, but even he had enough sense to know that messing with a device of an obvious mystical nature could have some nasty and unforeseeable consequences.  That large golden three-lensed telescope over in the corner, for example, might look harmless, but who knew what would happen to you if you actually rested your eyes on the eyepiece to look through it?

            Once he had finished with all of the interesting contraptions, Timmy turned his attention to the library.  The shelves reached up far above his head, making it impossible to read most of the titles, though that hardly appeared to make much of a difference, seeing as most of the books that he could see were apparently written in other languages, many of which Timmy could not even recognize as an actual language he'd seen.

            A few titles, though, were legible, and Timmy could tell from this limited sample that these texts covered a wide range of subjects, though they all appeared to be of a similar nature.  From _Darkest Magicks to __Hell: A Visitor's Guide to __Vampyr__ Psychology: How to Nurture Your Inner Daemon, Timmy got the feeling that he wouldn't be finding a __Chicken Soup book or anything by Laura Ingalls Wilder tucked in the collection._

            "Wow, Cassandra's library makes Tabitha's look downright pathetic!" Timmy noted in a whisper, as he continued to peruse the stacks.  Once he had gotten far enough in, though, Timmy noticed something that was not visible to someone who had just entered the room.  Tucked in a corner was an old cherry desk, covered with various old papers, and, in the center, a massive old book.

            His curiosity perking up, Timmy investigated the desk, his attention coming to rest on the book itself.  Not only was it huge, but it must also be absolutely ancient, judging by the yellowed, tattered paper and the faded ink.  In fact, he judged that, should he touch the pages, the edges would most likely crumble in his hand.

            Idly, Timmy turned his attention to the writing on the pages, expecting the script to be in some mysterious language.  To his surprise, though, he found that the book was indeed written in English, and indeed appeared to be a spell book of some kind.  Lacking anything else to do, the boy began to read, and slowly, his eyes opened wide in astonishment.  Simple ingredients, simple incantation, and the words themselves…

            Could it be?  Was it possible that the lost book Tabitha had spoken of was not destroyed at all, but had instead been secretly procured long ago by Cassandra?  To Timmy's magically untrained eyes, it surely seemed to be the very spell that he had despaired of ever being found!  He would show the spell to Tabitha, and surely she'd know whether or not it was the real thing.  Maybe, then, Ivy really could be helped after all!

            In his excitement, Timmy almost ripped the page right out of the book, before realizing that, of course, Cassandra would instantly know what he had done as soon as she saw her defaced text.  Frowning, Timmy wondered how he could possibly show it to Tabitha, when he remembered the pen and paper that he had hurriedly stuffed into his pocket earlier that day.

            Taking out the sheet of paper, he smoothed it out and turned it over, so as not to have to squeeze in the ingredients and incantations in between notes pertaining to _Hidden Passions 2 (Timmy really needs to come up with a catchier name, he thought to himself before turning his attention back to the more immediate issue at hand)__, and copied out the spell as hurriedly as he could.  Then, afraid that Tabitha and Cassandra would return to find him nosing around, he ran back to the main area of the chamber._

            Not long after he returned, the duo returned, Cassandra's expression unreadable and Tabitha's fairly sour.  After briskly saying goodbye, Tabitha turned to leave, and Timmy followed cheerfully, secretly congratulating himself on a job well done.


	25. The Prosaically Named Chapter 25

(A/N: As we all now know, _Passions has finally gotten around to actually introducing an actual Crane offspring, the supremely entertaining Fox.  Unfortunately, I originally envisioned my story over the summer, before any mention of this most recent cast member was made.  As such, I decided that the other three Crane children would all be daughters.  After all, considering that no mention of an existing child of Julian and Ivy's as the logical heir to the fortune had ever been made, three girls would make the most sense (not that a lot of things actually __make sense on this show).  Anyway, because of this there will be no Fox in this story, as much as I do adore him.)_

            "Hey, Laura," Jessica called happily as she bounded into their room, "I'm back, and you'll never guess wh—what on earth happened to you?!" she exclaimed, forgetting her train of thought as soon as her gaze fell upon her sister.  "You look like an explosion at the Keebler Elf factory!"

            Indeed, the Bennett family's most recent addition was a sorry sight to behold.  Both hands bandaged, as well several areas along the neck and forearms, her face lightly covered with flour and hair dotted with various bits of food plastered limply in strings clinging against her head, she stood with a dazed expression on her face, as if she herself was not quite sure how she had come to this point.  "Oh, our mother thought it would be a good idea for me to help her cook today.  After the highly predictable catastrophe, I came up here to change."

            "Oh, dear," Jessica sighed, thoughtfully stifling a giggle, "you'd better go and take a shower before dinner."

            "Yes, I was just going to.  Say, Jess," she said, trying to keep her voice as casual as possible, "think you could go ahead and open the closet door for me?  You're right there."

            "Umm…ok," Jessica replied, thinking that the request was odd, to say the least, but opened the door anyway.  With an expression on her face closely resembling relief, Laura peered into the closet and, apparently satisfied, grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

            "So, before I go and clean up, how did things go today?" Laura asked, smiling conspiratorially 

            "At first he was really upset, of course, and didn't want to talk to me," Jessica answered, her face rather long.  Then, she brightened up enormously and continued.  "But he eventually let me in, and we talked for a couple of hours.  He kept going on about all the warning signs, and what an idiot he had been, and I had to keep going, 'no you're not an idiot!,' and comfort him.  Finally, he started saying how he'd been so one-track about Kay that he hadn't noticed how wonderful this one other girl is." 

            "And then?!" Laura asked urgently, momentarily forgetting her own wretched condition as she found herself, despite her own strictly adhered to policy of never allowing herself to really get attached to anybody, sincerely rooting for her sister.

            "Well," Jessica smirked slyly, blushing a little, "when he said that, he kind of leaned just a little closer to my face, a little shy, and I was sure that he was about to kiss me…"

            "And?"

            Jessica's dreamy smile crashed into an annoyed frown.  "His mom came in, and reminded him that he had a dentist's appointment in half an hour.  Sorta spoiled the moment."

            Laura felt for her, but realized she was definitely on the right path.  "Oh, that's too bad.  Still, on the bright side, it sounds like he was definitely attracted to you.  I'd say it's only a matter of time."

            "I hope so.  Anyway, how was your afternoon?  Apart from the obvious, I mean."

            "Very…educational," Laura finally responded, after searching for just the right word.  "I learned a lot about the family.  Apparently, it's a miracle you're all still alive."

            "Yeah, I suppose it is," Jessica agreed nonchalantly, "but that's just how it is around here.  Oh, I'm so glad that you spent some time with our mom, though."

            Laura now sported a funny expression on her face.  "I guess it was a good thing, but Jess, don't you think there's something a little…off about her behavior?  Now, please don't take this the wrong way, because I really don't hate her or anything, but doesn't her obsession with Charity and John get to you sometimes?"

            "She's just trying to make up for lost time," the younger sister quickly asserted, once again denying her deeply repressed feelings.

            "Oh, I'm sure that's part of it," Laura replied, not impressed.  "But Charity's been part of the family for years now, and it seems to me that she's so wrapped up in John that she often forgets that she even has another son.  I'm a newcomer, so that does make me somewhat more interesting, but since I'm a lot more standoffish than either John or Charity, she doesn't know what to do with me and therefore only tries to reach out to me when absolutely nobody else is around.  Also, the fact that I was raised as Ivy Crane's daughter probably doesn't sit with her too well, either.  From what I've gathered, she and Kay didn't get along very well, especially not after Kay began openly acting out against Charity, perhaps also trying to get some attention, and since she knows you won't cause any trouble or do anything that requires her to get distracted from John and Charity or from having two men in love with her, she doesn't have to pay you attention."

            "Mom can't help all that!  She didn't make David show up after all these years; she couldn't even remember him."

            "Maybe not, but she isn't in too much of a hurry to get that annulment, is she?  She's forcing our father to sleep on the couch, claiming that it's to set a good example for us, but it really just makes him understandably upset and gives David more leeway to hang around and pine after her.  I think she's enjoying herself, personally."  Off of her sister's shocked expression, she continued.  "Oh, I saw it all the time, at the society mixers and balls and the like, heck half of the girls I lived with at boarding school did this.  And let me tell you, the worst ones were usually the girls who claimed to be moral and modest and virtuous.  They just couldn't get enough of that illicit thrill of being fought over."

            Jessica shook her head vigorously.  "That may be true sometimes, but not for our mother.  And…and, she doesn't MEAN to ignore me, it's just that with everything going on…she doesn't have time to…" but Jessica could not say anything further, because at that moment she burst into tears, apparently overcome by the flood of emotions that Laura had elicited against her will.  "I mean," she gasped out in between heaving sobs, "I love Ch-Charity and John, I do, but…before all this, sometimes she asked how I was doing, in school and in my extracurriculars…I guess she just takes it for granted that I'm getting As and Bs and staying out of trouble…I thought if only I could do everything right, be her helper…sorry to bore you…"

            "There, there," Laura patted Jessica gingerly on the back, "it's okay, Jess, you can tell me how you feel."  She felt quite awkward, not used to having anybody confide Severe Emotional Turmoil to her, and more than a little unsure of just how to act, but she truly wanted to help Jessica, who was going through something that Laura could most definitely relate to.  The difference between the two of them was twofold: one, that Ivy had always been unequivocally playing favorites while Grace had the Perfect Mother reputation, making Jessica feel guilty for having such feelings; and two, that Laura had gotten used to it all at a very young age and had learned to adopt a pragmatic and sometimes even cynical outlook to cope, while Jessica was the sort of personality who would repress and deny and self-sacrifice until she broke down completely.  Laura knew that she needed to tell all this to someone, and would have engulfed the hysterical teen in a sisterly hug had she not been covered practically from head to toe in all sorts of goo at that moment.

            So, instead, she listened as Jessica let everything out.  She explained how she _had been jealous of Charity and John, and had then felt horribly guilty for feeling that way.  She admitted that she had even been a little jealous of Kay, who at least was getting the attention of a troublemaker and had stood out, and how she still missed her "sister" terribly, and felt awful about how she had treated her, even if Kay had often deserved it.  She had thought that since she could never be a better bad kid than Kay, then she would try to be perfect and helpful, but that had just put her in the same category as Charity, who would always stand out that way.  Finally, and in a hushed, barely audible whisper, she confessed how often she actually ****__was furious with her mother, both for neglecting her and for treating her father so callously, and how she could never admit it before because it meant that she was a really terrible person—_

            "No, Jess, you're not a terrible person," Laura interrupted, grabbing her firmly on the shoulders and looking into her eyes seriously.  "You're entitled to feel this way, and as I've been trying to tell you, you don't always have to be okay about everything.  You know, I understand how you feel."

            "You do?" Jessica asked with a slight sniffle.

            "Of course."  Laura hesitated briefly before continuing.  She had vowed never to tell anybody how she really felt about this, for fear of appearing vulnerable, but right now her sister needed to know that she wasn't alone, and that was more important at the moment than keeping up appearances.  "When I was a Crane," she began, "sometimes I locked myself up in my room and cried myself to sleep when I saw all the attention that Ivy paid Ethan.  She doted on him, and I just couldn't understand why she didn't love me that much.  Sometimes, I hated her and prayed that she would die an excruciating death, and at other times I thought I deserved it, that if I could just be better, she would love me, too.  I had to hide these feelings from my sisters, because while they were annoyed by it all, they didn't hurt quite like I did, and tended to make jokes about Ethan and our parents.

            "So, I started imitating them, though I couldn't manage quite as much venom as they could.  Then, I got sent off to school, and my parents could completely ignore my existence, except for the money they would send on Christmas and birthdays.  I would have done I don't know what just to have my mother offer to take me with her on a trip during a break, tell me she loved me, even just call and ask how I was doing, any sign that my existence mattered to her, but there was nothing.  Eventually, I learned to be independent, to not even want any motherly love.  My entire goal in life became to avoid annoying my parents or my grandfather until I could get my trust fund money and quit the family for good.  Well, I got my wish, but not exactly how I expected to," Laura laughed, unable to hide the bitterness from her voice.  It had actually felt good to let that all out finally, though she definitely had no intention of making a habit of it.

            "Wow," Jessica gasped, "I had no idea it was like _that for you!  I'm sorry, I had no right to go on like I did…"_

            "Hey, don't be sorry!" Laura insisted adamantly. "As I said, I dealt with all of that a looong time ago.  It was good for you to say something.  I don't want my sister giving herself a nervous breakdown here," Laura smiled.

            "I do feel a little better," Jessica admitted, absentmindedly wiping away the tears from her eyes, "like a huge weight's been lifted and I'm free.  Thank you _so much for listening to me go on and on."_

            "Don't mention it, sis," Laura smiled again, but then looked down at herself.  "Gee, I'd really better go take that shower."

            "Alright.  See you at dinner."

            Now disappearing into the hallway, Laura called, "See you.  Oh, and if you value your life, stay away from the brownies."

*****

            As soon as they had gotten back from their meeting with Cassandra, Timmy ran up to his room, leaving Tabitha to wonder what in Hades was the matter with that lad of hers.  

            After a few minutes, Timmy came running back down the stairs with a decidedly urgent air about him.  "Well, what is it, Timmy?" Tabitha implored, nearly chuckling at his antics.

            Barely pausing to catch his breath, Timmy handed her the scrap of paper he had inscribed the incantation upon.  "Is this it, Princess, is this the spell that will make Ivy be herself again?"

            Tabitha snorted as she began to read the paper, just to humor the boy.  "Ridiculous," she snickered, "there's absolutely no way that you could have found…" her voice slowly trailed off as she kept reading.  When she had finished, she asked in awe, "Timmy, how did you find this?"

            "It was in a book in Cassandra's chamber, on her desk," the former doll explained, beaming with no small amount of pride.  "The book was opened to the page with this spell on it, so Timmy went and copied it down."

            "Well, I've got to hand it to you, Timmy, you've found it.  This is, indeed, the very counter-spell that Kay Crane is so desperately looking for as we speak."

            "But, Princess, why would Cassandra have it in the first place?"

            Tabitha sighed, as seemed to be her usual reaction to just about anything these days.  "From what I could tell, her library seemed pretty extensive.  She must have secretly obtained that missing copy ages ago, and she's kept it down there the entire time.  I assume she knows all about every single one of Kay's activities, including her current magical issues, and has looked up the reversal out of idle curiosity."

            "Timmy doesn't understand.  She didn't look it up to help Kay?"

            Tabitha scoffed, shaking her head wearily at her precious Timmy's pitiable simplicity.  "Think, lad!  What if Ivy Crane were to be recovered, but with enough left over from Ivy Winthrop that she's swayed away from evil, and notices that Kay is getting more and more wicked by the day?  Why, she'd be extremely worried, of course, and would persist in trying to reach her, 'save' her, if you will.  Who knows, she might even be able to succeed, and Cassandra certainly wouldn't let her Heir be persuaded to turn from evil."

            Seeing his chance, Timmy drove in his point.  "If Cassandra doesn't want it, and we're her enemies, then shouldn't we give the spell to Kay?  She won't get what she wants then."

            Tabitha couldn't quite believe what she was hearing.  "And openly defy her!  I should think not!  Besides, if our goals happen to be the same, then I'm on her side, and I don't want to fix Ivy any more than I'm sure she does."

            When she had finished speaking, Tabitha decisively waved her hand, and the paper dissolved with a loud SNAP! into a very fine powder.  Seeing this, Timmy yelled "NO!," and looked as if he was fighting back tears.

            Oh, how it hurt her blackened heart to see Timmy upset like this!  Unfortunately, there had been nothing else for it.  "I'm sorry, Timmy, but you're just going to have to learn to stop trying to be a hero.  Ivy will remain as she is, and Kay will continue down her path to evil.  I'll tell you what, why don't I go into the kitchen and whip you up a nice grilled cheese sandwich?"  Timmy nodded sadly, so Tabitha exited the living room, feeling a good deal more remorseful about her decision than she would ever admit to.

            As soon as Tabitha had gone, though, Timmy's features transformed into a broad grin, and he promptly yanked another scrap of paper out of his pocket.

            "Timmy _knew that it was a good idea to run up and make another copy, just in case something like this would happen.  Now, all Timmy has to do is find the right time to slip away and go to the Crane mansion, and everything will be fine!  Sorry Tabby, but Timmy must do what he knows in his heart is right."_

            Timmy then felt a stab of guilt cut right through him, knowing that his sweet Princess wouldn't like this at all.  He hated betraying Tabitha, and no matter how many times he crossed her, he still felt really bad about it.  A boy had to do what a boy had to do, though, and Timmy had to get to Kay, hopefully sometime tomorrow, and give her the spell so that she could cure her mother.  Timmy only hoped that his witch would understand his actions.

            "Wait a second!" Timmy exclaimed out loud, relaxing as an almost physical wave of relief washed over him.  "Timmy doesn't know why he was so worried a minute ago.  Tabby will be mad for awhile, sure, but one day soon she'll turn good, and when that happens, she'll be glad Timmy did what he's going to do.  He's not betraying his Princess at all!  He's just following her future wishes exactly!"

            That moral crisis settled, Timmy grinned once again, and stuffed the paper back into his pocket.  Then, putting his sad face back on, he marched glumly into the kitchen, playing quite effectively at total dejection.

*****

            Gwen and Hank hung around the docks at a small section of the harbor, trying to look as casual as possible, while searching as well as they could for any signs of suspicious activity.  They had been there for hours, without any luck, and would need to go back every day until they found something.

            "Let's face it," Gwen finally muttered out of sheer frustration, "this is completely hopeless.  We have absolutely no idea what we're looking for, and Boston Harbor is enormous, large enough that we can't just sit around looking for patterns of some kind."

            "Hey now," Hank responded patiently, reassuringly holding her hands in his, in an attempt to calm her down.  "How many seemingly dead ends have we already faced?  We'll figure something out.  Don't worry."

            "Don't worry?!" Gwen repeated incredulously.  "Don't worry?  Nobody knows where we are, and we're trying to rescue Antonio from very dangerous illegal arms dealers WHILE also capturing the shipment and bringing down the whole operation.  This isn't a game, Hank; these are _very dangerous waters we're wading in, and I don't think we really know what we're doing."_

            "Well, would you rather let Antonio be forced to deliver the shipment, and probably be killed afterwards?"

            Gwen shook her head emphatically.  "Of course not!  And not just for Antonio's sake; this is a matter of national security, I get that.  It's just that I do have a healthy instinct for self-preservation, and this is definitely going against it."

            With the double motive of comforting Gwen and appearing like a normal couple out for a stroll by the water to anyone who might be watching, Hank gently took hold of Gwen by the forearms and drew her ever so slightly closer to him.  "It's all gonna be alright, you know."

            "You think so?" Gwen asked, trying to ignore the thrill of his touch, and the odd yet persistent desire she felt to press herself entirely against his tall frame.

            "No doubt about it," Hank replied breezily, neither his voice nor his features betraying the truth that her presence affected him just as much as his did her.  "Look at us: Luis is a cop, Sheridan doesn't seem to be killable, you've shown that you can trace just about anything, and as for me, well," he said with a slightly cocky smile, "I've learned a thing or two in my shady past.  We've been through a lot now, and I know we'll all get through this."

            Gwen couldn't help grinning back, the gravity of their predicament forgotten for a moment.  "We have been through a lot, haven't we?  And we do seem to make a pretty good team after all.  I never would have thought it possible a month ago.  I thought you were the most obnoxious guy on the planet back then."

            "So, what am I now, fourth most obnoxious guy?"

            "Nah," Gwen smiled wickedly, "I'd say you've gotten yourself down to number seven or eight.  So, have I dropped any?  You must have thought of me as the biggest bitch alive.  Have you since decided that I come in second?"

            "I never thought you were a bitch," Hank answered truthfully.

            Gwen looked up at him, completely taken aback.  "You're kidding!  You always saw through me, even when no one else did.  You knew perfectly well that I was plotting against your best friend's little sister!"

            Absent-mindedly brushing a stray strand of hair from Gwen' brow, Hank let out a light chuckle.  "But I never disliked you for it.  Now, I'm not saying that what you did was right, but I'm hardly perfect myself, and I'm guessing that you realize just as much as I do that you shouldn't have done whatever it is exactly that you did.  I like you, Gwen, always have, and I meant it last year when I said that you deserve a guy who doesn't see you as being second best."

            Gwen didn't know what to say, and so continued staring up at him, unconsciously moving ever so slightly nearer.  By looking into his now totally sincere deep blue eyes, she could tell that he had meant every word, and furthermore was looking at her in a way she had always wished Ethan would gaze at her, but had never quite managed to.  Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to reach out to him and melt into a passionate embrace, and almost did, until the voice of reason stopped her.

            It was madness, of course.  Complete and utter insanity.  Their current situation was highly abnormal, to say the least, and she'd feel completely different under normal circumstances.  Right now, they were thrown together and their lives were in danger, but once they got out of it, she'd come to her senses and realize that it could never work.  They were so different, and besides, she didn't even like him!  As soon as the danger was past, everything would change, and she wouldn't want him anymore.

            The other big factor here, she soon decided, had to be Ethan.  She had loved him for well over a decade, and he was her first, her only, the man she'd almost married.  She had been right earlier when she said that she was on the rebound; Hank was just there, the convenient man to turn to.  Any reasonably attractive male would have elicited the same response.  Yes, the combination of their bizarre circumstances and her thwarted love for Ethan had brought her to this point.

            It was not until several hours later, when she was trying to get to sleep in the room she and Sheridan were currently sharing, that she realized that it had been well over a week since she had last thought about Ethan at all.

*****

            Ivy and David were now totally alone in Kay's room, as the teenager had been called abruptly away, leaving the two of them to continue the search.

            Slamming the book she had been reading down with a frustrated oomph, Ivy sat back wearily, her expression a mixture of irritation and despondence.  "That's it.  I'm sorry, but I just can't look at one more yellowed page filled with archaic occult inscriptions without flying into a homicidal rage right now."

            "We have been at it for quite a while," David agreed, truly not knowing what else to say.

            Sighing, Ivy began to gather up the texts, bumping them in a large lockable chest Kay had been using for the purpose of hiding them from the cleaning staff.  "I don't know about you, but I'm finished with this for today."

            David kneeled down, and proceeded to help her pit away the volumes.  Concerned about Ivy, and wanting to fill up the silence, he asked, "So, how're you feeling right now, since Kay said that she might not be able to do the counter-spell?"

            "To tell the truth, I really don't know," Ivy replied, consciously keeping her voice as emotionless as possible.  "I mean, I'm scared about what will happen to me if we find it, I admit.  On the other hand, I'm not supposed to be here, and I _really hate having to live out this life, knowing what I've become.  I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens, and just accept it either way."_

            "Yeah, I guess that's all one can do," David replied sympathetically.  What else could he possibly say right now?  No words came, so when they finished, David stood back up, saying, "Well, I'd better get going now that we're done here for now.  After last night, it really wouldn't do for us to be spotted together again."

            Saying goodbye, David took his leave, leaving Ivy alone with her thoughts.  Currently, and for obvious reasons, her thoughts were the last things on earth Ivy wanted to be alone with, so she decided to go downstairs, and see if she could find something else to occupy her time.  She no longer feared interacting with others; she had had enough encounters already that she felt confident enough that she would be capable of handling any event that might arise.

            After taking the elevator downstairs, Ivy wheeled into the main living room.  She had not been there for more than a couple of minutes when, suddenly, what looked like a large white cotton ball came running into the room, nearly tripping over her wheelchair, followed closely by Rebecca, wearing a cartoonishly frilly, pastel pink peasant's dress with a decidedly formidable bust, and carrying a large hooked staff.  "Oh, dear," she, evidently not yet aware of Ivy's presence, exclaimed in a sing-song, pseudo-distressed voice, "I've lost my sheep and I just don't know where to find him!  When I catch up with that rascal, he's going to get sheared, alright!"

            What the hell?!  With a rising horror, Ivy realized that the gigantic ball of cotton was in fact Julian, dressed up as a sheep, and Rebecca's sleazy get-up was meant to resemble a shepherdess.  Why on earth they would run around dressed that way? It all made absolutely no sense at all, unless…

            _Good God in heaven!, Ivy mentally cringed, stunned to say the least,   __they're playing some sort of a sex game here!  What have I done to deserve **this?  Sickened beyond description, Ivy could not help voicing her revulsion.  "Ugh, I can't believe you two!  You're absolutely disgusting!"**_

            Although both now looked a little embarrassed, they each stood up straight, as if attempting to muster up something resembling actual dignity.  Rebecca spoke first, turning up her nose ever so slightly.  "Yes, Ivy, something like this must be a terrible shock for you; after all, we _all know that it's been years, possibly decades, since you've had a good romp with anyone."_

            "Well, it's certainly been that long since you've had one with _me," Julian joined in, obviously going for cutting sarcasm in a vain attempt to not appear quite so ridiculous in his costume.  "In fact, I don't think I'd be able to even remember how long it's been if we couldn't just take the age of our youngest daughter and add nine months."_

             "Unfortunately, Julian, a thousand years wouldn't be enough time to let me forget the horror of THAT experience."  Although Ivy of course had no memory of any of this, and she really barely even knew a much younger Julian, yelling at him just seemed to come automatically, like a second nature.  In fact, she was so wrapped up in the moment that she didn't notice that he seemed to shift his weight from one foot to another in an almost guilty manner for a second.  The mention of Kay had got her thinking, though, and her instinctual protective feelings rose to the surface.  "And speaking of our youngest, she, not to mention God knows how many other people, are living under this very roof as we speak.  What's to stop her from walking right in when you're carrying on with your sexcapades?  Really, how dumb are you two?!"

            "This is my house, and I'll do as I please in it," Julian replied lamely, knowing that he didn't have a good excuse, but loath to admit it to Ivy.

            "Right," Rebecca inserted pointedly, as if determined to get another word in.  "It IS his house, and mine, too.  Or, it will be, anyway, once you get that divorce from the Tijuana Tart.  You _are working on it, aren't you, pookie?"  She gazed at him demurely, but everything about her manner seemed to convey a very thinly veiled threat._

            "Uh, of course I am!" Julian smiled nervously, squirming visibly.  Desperate to change the subject, Julian began to nibble on Rebecca's earlobe.  "But right now, Becks, why don't we go and find out what's underneath this fleece as white as snow."

            Both of them giggling again, they quickly exited, hopefully to Julian's own room.  Once again alone, Ivy quickly came to the conclusion that her tormented thoughts were not such a bad company after all.

            "Well, on the bright side," she said to herself, "I've been agonizing over how and why I turned bad, but now it all makes perfect sense.  After years of living with HIM, I guess I just couldn't take it any more and finally snapped!"

*****

            With some effort, Kay finally made her way into her ancestor's lair, amazed that such a vast network of passageways existed right under her very home.  She knew why she had been called down, of course; it was finally time for her to begin her real training, which she had been looking forward to with a nervous anticipation.  She still didn't really understand this 'destiny' that Cassandra spoke of, but she knew that it would give her the power and control that she now so desperately craved.  

            "Nice place ya got here," Kay observed offhandedly, looking all around the room.  "Very 'Batcave of the Damned.'  I like it."

            "Why thank you," the vampire replied brightly, gliding across the expanse of the room to greet her.  "I'm glad that it suits you.  You will, after all, be spending a great deal of time down here."

            "Cool.  So, what is this education of mine all about?  'Cuz, I gotta admit, I'm kinda fuzzy on what exactly I'll be doing as this 'True Heir' you keep talking about."

            "All in good time, my dear Kay.  You'll understand everything eventually.  Don't lose heart, though; we'll have to move at a fairly brisk if you're going to be ready when the time comes."

            "When the time comes for what?" Kay asked uneasily, not liking the ominous tone of that statement.

            Cassandra looked slightly reluctant to part with her information, but nevertheless gave her an answer, choosing her words carefully.  "I'm not going to lie to you now, Kay.  "There are forces for God assembled here in Harmony that are going to try to destroy you.  Of this, I have absolutely no doubt."

            "Great," Kay sarcastically interjected, feeling a good deal less enthusiastic about the whole business.

            Apparently unconcerned, Cassandra continued.  "You needn't worry, child.  As the True Heir, it will not be your fate to fall so easily, and so soon.  You _will triumph over you enemies, never fear, but in order to do so we must begin preparation._

            "Alright, we'll prepare.  What am I going to learn now?" she asked eagerly, anxious to get down to something concrete and useful, instead of all this prophesy-type talk.

            "Well, you'll be studying spell casting, of course, to learn to master both your normal powers and your Nosferitia.  In addition, you'll be honing your senses, among other things."

            "I don't understand.  What do you mean by 'senses'?"

            "It's really very simple.  My son and grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren to a very limited extent, possessed senses that were more vampiric than human.  They faded, but you should possess them as well.  Now, I know you're going to say that you don't have any, but I can feel them, lying dormant deep within you.  Now, close your eyes and clear your mind as much as you possibly can, as if you were listening for something nearly inaudible."

            Kay complied, and stood as still as humanly possible, though she privately thought that it was all a waste of time.  What was supposed to happen, she'd just stand there and suddenly reach enlightenment?  Kay was just about to give up and say that she didn't think this would all be so lame, when a cold shiver shot up and down her spine.  Cassandra's icy hand was now touching her temple, and she felt something beginning to swell inside of her.  It, like the vampire's touch, was also freezing cold, and yet somehow it felt right, as if she had been built to feel like this.  Ever so slowly, though, the swelling built up, until it became unbearably excruciating, and Kay thought that she would either explode or freeze to death or both.  Then, when she couldn't take it any longer and was about to open her mouth to scream, something _did explode inside of her, and when she opened her eyes, everything was different._

            The difference was hard to describe, and impossible to capture exactly.  Kay's eyesight had always been perfect, but now it was as if she had just put on glasses for the first time after suffering from a severe vision problem her entire life.  Colors were vibrant where they had been dull, and brilliant where they had been vibrant, the edges of everything looked somehow much sharper, and her eyes could pick up far more detail than they ever had before.  

            It wasn't merely her sight that had been affected, either.  Suddenly the slightly musty odor of the chamber became far more intense, and she could pick up the scents from around the room: she now noticed the aroma of old paper, strange ingredients on the shelves a good thirty feet away, and the slightly metallic smell of the instruments.  A myriad of tiny noises sounded off around her, making her realize that her hearing had become far more finely attuned.

            "Amazing, isn't it," Cassandra asked with a zealous smile, breaking Kay's reverie and causing her to focus her attention on the vampire.  At this instant, it became apparent that Cassandra had been talking about more than the five physical senses.  For lack of a better term, she could "sense" the supernatural forces surrounding her ancestor.  Kay would have said that she could "see" the magic, but that would have been giving the wrong impression as to the true nature of the experience.  Cassandra didn't _look any different, at least not in any way that could not be explained by her heightened vision, but this aspect was just as tangible, just as real to her as anything she could see with her eyes.  Then, as if this one experience made all others possible, the rest of the chamber now hummed (though not in a way that would imply sound, as she certainly wasn't hearing this at all) with power, with various points showing a concentration of this power.  Furthermore, she could also discern a marked difference in the various kinds of magic in the lair: though it all had a dark cast, the spell books felt noticeably different from Cassandra herself, for example._

            "Wow," Kay whispered in a small awestruck voice, finally answering Cassandra.  "This is incredible.  I can actually _feel all this power!  And my sight, smell, hearing…"_

            "Yes, and you'll find your sense of touch has increased as well, though it's not as dramatic or crucial.  Your taste will stay the same, though.  Not being a vampire yourself," Cassandra slyly showed all of her teeth, "blood will not be a part of your diet.  That's also a difference with smell, as well.  If you shared that aspect, the blood flowing in others' veins would literally call out to you, probably driving you quite mad.  Other than that, the senses that have emerged are quite vampiric."

            "Cool," was all Kay could say in response for a good long while.  "So, we're gonna spend the rest of this time today teaching me to use this?"

            Cassandra nodded, and amended, "and if there's time, we'll work on using your magic to you fullest potential as well.  I don't want to push you faster than you can safely go, but as I said before, it's imperative that you learn as quickly as possible."


	26. The Prosaically Named Chapter 26

(A/N: First of all, I'd just like to once again say thank you to all my reviewers, for taking the time to tell me what they think of this story.  Secondly, it seems that I've suddenly hit a creative spurt, and have been able to update _Changes with an unusual frequency.  Frankly, I have no idea how long this streak will last, though I hope that it will get me a good portion before the inevitable combination of an increasing workload and writer's block slows me down again.)_

            "Hi guys!" Charity yelled spiritedly (for her) as her cousins descended the stairway for breakfast.  Charity was already positioned at the table, flanked by Miguel on one side and John on the other.  Their father also sat at the table in uniform, as their mother busied herself making bacon and eggs for her brood.

            The two said hello in return and took their seats as they awaited the meal.  Charity and Miguel soon began cooing at each other, and John realized he had a major dilemma, as he told Grace.  Apparently, he just couldn't decide which was more delicious: tomato soup cake or eggplant brownies, and this indecision was now causing him no end of confusion and anxiety.  "Well, I guess you'll just have to have a helping of both next time," Grace smiled indulgently.  "Charity, would you like it if I fixed both?"

            "Oh yes, Aunt Grace!" Charity enthused.  "That is, if it wouldn't be too much trouble for you."

            "Feeding my wonderful family is never trouble!"

            Laura and Jessica rolled their eyes, both at the insipid nature of the conversation and because they had once again not been asked what they thought.  Ever since her confession to Laura, Jessica had begun to be more honest to herself about how she felt, and found that it was really quite liberating.  Sam also looked as if he was trying to hide his annoyance; although he had automatically defended his wife at the party when Ivy had mentioned Kay's anger, the more he thought about it, the more sense it had all made.  Could Kay's resentful refusal to see anyone from her old family actually stem from a possibly justified belief that his wife had put her niece and newfound son first?  Sam didn't want to believe such a thing about his wife, but with the way he noticed she'd been fawning over John and Charity the past couple of days, he was beginning to have his doubts.  He put them at the back of his mind, though, when Grace served the meal.

            After they were all done eating, Miguel and Charity, grinning more broadly than ever, stood up excitedly.  "Before we all leave," Charity began, gazing adoringly at her true love, "Miguel and I have an announcement to make."

            "Right," Miguel continued ecstatically, his eyes never leaving Charity's face, "after giving the matter a lot of thought and consideration, Charity and I have decided to become officially engaged.  We're getting married!"

            "OH MY GOD!" Jessica squealed as she jumped up to hug Charity.  John smiled and shook Miguel's hand, as Sam congratulated the couple, although he looked a little reluctant, as if he didn't think that the two of them were making the best decision.  Grace, on the other hand, gave her undivided, wholehearted approval.

            Gushing, she took Charity's hand.  "I'm so happy for you, Charity.  The two of you have such a miraculous love, and I just know you'll have a wonderful life together.  Oh, I can't wait to help plan this wedding!"

            "Thank you, Aunt Grace, I would never be able to do this without you," Charity replied sweetly.

            Up until this point, Laura hadn't said anything.  "Congratulations, you two," she began hesitantly, "but you are talking about in a few years, right, and you're just making it clear that you have an understanding to get married."

            "Of course not!" Charity exclaimed.

            Still beaming, Miguel shook his head at Laura.  "Nope, we're not waiting.  In fact, we're hoping to be married well before the end of the summer."

            Laura just couldn't believe that nobody else was saying anything about this.  "But, you're both only eighteen, like me.  That's much too young to get married!"

            "Not when you really love each other," Charity replied, unphased.  "Besides, we've really thought this through, and we know what we're doing?"

            "Okay, then, where are you going to live?  How are you going to support yourselves?"

            "We're going to college," Miguel explained placidly.  "And we'll live in a married dorm.  After we graduate, I'll get a job and we'll buy a house."

            "Do you have any idea what either of you are going to school _for?" Laura countered.  "Besides, I don't even think that most colleges __have married dorms for first-years.  Are either of you even enrolled anywhere, because I've never heard you mention anything about it before.  And, wait a second, Charity, weren't you missing or something your entire second semester of senior year?"_

            Charity shifted uncomfortably, as if recalling a painful memory.  "Yes, but nobody knew it at the time, because I had been frozen in a block of ice and an evil zombie who looked just like me had taken my place and had acted really mean to everybody."

            "Um…okay."  Laura didn't have anything else to say, deciding that pressing that particular matter would yield no result other than giving her a nasty headache.  "Alright, you were impersonated by an evil zombie, but do you mean to tell me that an evil zombie would actually bother to go to class and do the work?  Personally, I can't even see how you're out of high school, much less able to get married and attend college."

            Glaring at her newfound daughter with a look Laura could only describe as protective anger, Grace made some excuse about wanting to show Laura how to cook some dish, and practically dragged the girl away from the others.  "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded, overly, and unreasonably, defensive.

            "What do you mean?" Laura asked, sincerely confused.

            "You were trying to convince Charity and Miguel not to get married."

            Laura gawked at her mother, having a hard time believing the direction the conversation was beginning to take.  "Oh, that?  I just thought that they're too young, and could screw up their entire lives."

            Grace shook her head adamantly.  "Theirs is a true love, Laura.  Charity and Miguel are meant to be together forever, and I just don't think anybody should try to break them up."

            "Why would I want to break them up?" Laura asked, trying very hard not to lose her temper.

            "I'm not really sure, unless…" Grace's voice broke off, and she looked at Laura with an unmistakable suspicion in her eyes.  "Unless _you want Miguel for yourself."_

            Laura couldn't help it; she laughed right in Grace's face.  "Me?  Want Miguel?  Yeah, right!"

            Grace was not convinced.  "I don't know; it would explain your attitude just now."

            "Attitude?  All I was saying was that they shouldn't get married, not that they should break up or anything!"

            Grace hoped that Laura was telling the truth, but nevertheless worried that her daughter would prove to be yet another threat to her niece's happiness.  "I want to believe you, but you'd better leave Miguel alone.  He should be with Charity.  Just so you know, Laura, I'll be keeping an eye on you."

            Laura nearly screamed in sheer frustration.  "Look, for the last time, I'm not plotting against your darling Charity, and I don't want Miguel for myself!  To be brutally honest, I think he's dense and boring.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll just go up to my room now and read for awhile.  If you're looking for me later today and can't find me, don't worry. I'm not off concocting a diabolical scheme; I'll just be having lunch at the Book Café with Ethan." Without another word, Laura stormed out of the kitchen.

            Noticing her absence, Charity thoughtfully asked, "What's wrong with Laura, Aunt Grace?  She seemed really upset just now."

            "Oh, she just remembered something that she had to do," Grace lied.

            This explanation apparently satisfied all of the kids except Jessica, who quickly excused herself to go and find out what was really going on while the others continued chatting.  Eventually, all of the kids left, and only Sam and Grace were left in the kitchen.

            "Sam, you'd better get going; you'll be late for work."

            Sam shrugged.  "I'll get there in time.  Right now we need to have a talk."

            "About what?  The wedding plans? Because I just had the best idea for—"

             "No, not the wedding plans.  I listened to your conversation with Laura, or more accurately, your interrogation of her."

            Grace stiffened up defensively.  "I didn't like the way she was speaking to Charity and Miguel, and I just don't want her doing anything to destroy their love."

            "The points she made were valid, and I'm not sure that she was wrong.  She had no idea what you were talking about, Grace!"

            "So she says," Grace answered simply.

            "What is this?  Why do you insist on assuming the worst of this girl, who happens to be OUR DAUGHTER?!"

            "You know how many troubles Miguel and Charity have been through.  Evil has tried to break them apart so many times, and I won't let it succeed when they're so close to the happiness that they both deserve."

            "Oh, so our daughter is evil now?  Gee, that's funny, because apart from being a little distant, which is perfectly understandable, I haven't noticed anything wrong with her.  Come on, Grace, she was just starting to open up to us.  Haven't you noticed how she's been getting close to Jessica?  And she's talked to me a little and tried cooking with you yesterday.  Now is not the time to push her away with ridiculous accusations."

            "I just don't happen to think that they're so ridiculous," Grace countered.  "And, don't you think it's at least possible that there's something off about her?  After all, Charity and John never had any trouble blending right in with the family."

            "Maybe that's because Laura's just a lot more, oh I don't know, NORMAL, than those two."

            Exerting a great deal of self-control, Grace did not slap Sam as hard as she could across the face.  "You will _not say anything against John and Charity," she ordered, her voice suddenly reaching a creepily commanding tone._

            Sam held his ground, more than a little shocked by his wife's behavior.  "Why won't you give our daughter the benefit of the doubt?  There's no reason to suspect her of anything, and don't you want her to eventually want to be close to us?  We've lost Kay, it looks like for good, and I don't want the same thing to happen with Laura.  I've been trying to give her space and let her come around at her own pace, and I thought you were doing the same thing, but now I'm starting to think that you're really just more interested in those two."

            At his words, Grace laughed harshly and threw her hands up in the air.  "That's what this is really about, isn't it?  You can't stand the fact that I care about them because Charity's MY niece and John's my son with David, so neither of them is related to _you!"_

            Sam stared blankly at Grace, amazed that she would accuse him of something that petty.  "No, of course not!  I want you to have a relationship with them; I just don't want it to be at Laura's expense."

            "Well, I don't want it to be that way, either, but let's be honest: we hardly know her, and when you take into account the way she was raised…"

            Sam's jaw dropped as it dawned on him what this was really all about.  "How she was raised?  That's it, isn't it?  You won't admit it even to yourself, but it just bugs the hell out of you that she was raised as Ivy's daughter, after all Ivy's done to break us up.  On some level, you're seeing our daughter as some little Ivy out to plot against Charity!"

            "Of course not!" Grace denied vehemently.  "That doesn't enter into it at all!"

            "Yes, I think it does.  And it also explains why, after our initial attempts, you gave up on Kay and concentrated even more on Charity."

            "I gave up on Kay because she made it very clear that didn't want us around, and because she has a mother.  And speaking of her mother, I think this all just goes to prove that you still haven't gotten over Ivy."

            "Think whatever you want," Sam replied, his voice low and serious, "but Ivy has nothing to do with this for _me, at least.  I just want what's best for our children, and I truly hope that you do too.  "If not, well, I guess we've got a pretty irreconcilable difference.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to work now."_

            Once Sam was gone, Grace stood alone in the kitchen, fuming.  How dare Sam accuse her of taking sides against one of their children?  She _did care about Laura, but if the girl had learned to be a schemer based on her upbringing and was trying to come between Charity and Miguel, then Grace just couldn't let her go and hurt Charity, who was so good and sweet and had suffered so much already.  Now, everything was a mess, and so Grace decided that she needed to take her mind for it, so she left to find Charity so that they could begin discussing wedding plans._

*****

            Rebecca was by this time very agitated.  Her daughter had now been missing a fairly long time without a word, and she could no longer comfort herself by saying that she had just gone off for a break.  To top it off, she knew that Sheridan, Luis, Hank, and Antonio were also nowhere to be found.  Rebecca of course knew that her Gwen would have nothing to do with those three guys, but the absence of Sheridan made her greatly suspect that Gwen's disappearance was somehow connected.__

            The police of course had already been notified about the mass disappearance, and it seemed that there was nothing she could do.  Rebecca loathed just sitting around helplessly while her Gwennie could be in trouble.  Rebecca may have had many, many faults, but one thing that could always be said for her was that she cared fiercely about the welfare of her two children.

            Apart from Rebecca's fear for her daughter's safety, this absence left the would-be Crane wife with nobody to talk to, to confide her latest schemes to.  True, Gwen had been an oftentimes unwilling confidante, but a schemer always needs somebody to brag about her plans to.  And now, with her missing, Julian there to be manipulated through sex, and her son, having just graduated from college and currently spending time at the old Hotchkiss manor in England, not due back home for another few months, Rebecca decided to go and seek out Ivy. 

            She found her "friend" easily enough in her room, reading some magazine or other.  Prancing right in, the redhead took a seat across from her

            "What do you want, Rebecca?" Ivy asked without looking up.  "Run out of costumes, have you?  Well, if you've decided to dress up as a person with some taste for a change, and have come to raid my wardrobe, I'm afraid that you probably wouldn't fit."

            "I should say not," Rebecca replied, not missing a beat.  "The chest size would be _much too small for me.  No, I've come to talk about Theresa."_

            Ivy sat straight up and tossed aside her magazine.  She had been expecting this follow-up conversation since the party, and knew that she would have to be in top form to handle it. "What about Theresa, Rebecca?"

            "You already know exactly what I'm going to say.  I want to get rid of her, and I would like your help."

            "For the last time, no!" Ivy shouted.  "I don't want a part of this."

            "You've _got one!" Rebecca laughed threateningly.  What was wrong with Ivy?!  Rebecca privately wondered why she'd been acting so strange lately, but for now focused her attention on the argument at hand.  "Think, Ivy, you were a part of my last plan to kill Theresa.  Whether or not you help me now, if I get caught, I'll tell them all about your involvement, so you might as well protect yourself by participating."_

            Ivy winced a little; nevertheless, she'd expected this line, and could handle it.  "Think, Rebecca!  The opportunity for killing Theresa has passed.  Before, we could get her to do herself in, but this would involve a direct assassination, and with a brother on the police force and her a family friend of the police chief, it's not exactly the safest solution."

            Rebecca had to admit that Ivy had a point, but refused to give up so easily.  "We'll just have to make sure it's untraceable, then."

            "Okay, then, maybe we could do it.  What if she doesn't actually die?  She sure as hell didn't **last time!  She's already gunning for us.  If she survives another attempt on her life, we're as good as dead."**

            Rebecca huffed, unwilling to admit that Ivy made some sense.  "Are you just saying we should let her go?  Because, mark my words, I _will be Mrs. Crane."_

            "No, of course not.  What I've been trying to say is that you should find some way to discredit her, to make her lose all of her power."  Ivy felt a stab of guilt for speaking thus.  She may not like Theresa, but she hated plotting maliciously even more.  _Oh well, she told herself, __I AM saving her life here.  I had to convince Rebecca to not want her dead, and this was the only good excuse I could come up with.._

_            Rebecca considered Ivy's argument for a long moment.  Finally, she spoke.  "As much as I hate to admit it, I guess you do have a point.  You win; I will not have Theresa killed—for now, anyway."_

*****

            Kay sat alone in her room, exhausted both physically and mentally, having just returned from her second tutorial session with Cassandra.  Even though her training had just begun, she had already learned a great deal, and could literally feel her power growing steadily.  In addition to the heightened senses, her speed and agility had also increased somewhat, though she'd need extensive practice in order to really utilize them.  Her Standish magic, she discovered, gave her the power to perform a great deal of standard magic without a spell, like the witches on _Bewitched.  This ability was still extremely weak, but would grow tremendously the more she used it.  She'd also been taught many Nosferitia incantations, and found that calling on this power gave her a feeling of heady satisfaction bordering on euphoria that the others did not._

            It was while she was going over the spells in her head that she was interrupted by an unexpected visitor.  Tabitha's weird "nephew" Timmy darted into her room, breathing heavily.  "What the hell are you doing here?" Kay demanded irritably, not in the mood for some ridiculous interruption.

            "Timmy's got something really important for you.  He knows you're not having any luck finding a spell to change your mother back to herself."

            "How do you know I can't find anything?" Kay narrowed her eyes at him in a threatening manner.

            "Timmy doesn't have time for this.  He can't stay here long, and he has something hear that Kay wants."

            "And just what does Timmy have that Kay wants?" Kay sneered mockingly.

            Ignoring her rudeness, Timmy handed her the paper and explained.  "Timmy found the right spell and thought that he should give it to you."

            Gasping, Kay grabbed the paper and read through the spell.  It certainly looked like the real thing, alright.  However, she had thought that the spell that got them into trouble in the first place would do something entirely different than what it actually accomplished.  "You're sure that this is the real deal?"

            Timmy's little head bobbed up and down vigorously.  "Timmy's one hundred percent certain."

            "And how can I be sure that I can trust you?"

            "Timmy gives his word.  If you can't believe that, there's nothing else that Timmy can do.  Now, Timmy needs to get back home as soon as he can."  As soon as he had come in, Timmy was gone, leaving Kay to decide what to do.

            On one hand, it seemed as if she was holding in her hands the solution to the whole fiasco.  On the other, if this spell was a fake, it could cause even more harm than the last one.  Although Kay couldn't completely discount the possibility, she couldn't help believing that Timmy was a trustworthy, honest little guy who wouldn't play her false.  She noticed, looking over the ingredients, that she should be able to perform the spell tomorrow if she would decide to do so.  After debating with herself for awhile, Kay decided that the best course of action was simply to tell her mother the truth, that she thought that she had the spell but wasn't quite sure, and clearly explain the risks, and let her decide what to do about it.

*****

            Laura greeted her half-brother with a hug when they met up right in front of the Book Café.

            "Hi to you, too, Laura," Ethan laughed as he held the door to the establishment open for her.  "I must say, you never acted like this when you were a Crane.  I always got the impression that you didn't like me."

            "Of course I didn't," Laura replied, taking a seat at the nearest empty table.  Her words were cutting, but her tone of voice was matter-of-fact, and not bitter.  "It would've taken a saint to not hate you back then, and, although I'm not the troublemaker some people evidently now think I am, I am certainly no saint."

            "Oh, I'm sorry."  Ethan understood some of what his sister was saying, of course.  Even he couldn't help noticing that he had been their mother's favorite, and had always felt a little guilty about it.  He had no idea what she was meant by somebody thinking she was a troublemaker, but didn't ask further, because he knew Laura well enough to know that she would explain if and when she felt like it, and not a moment sooner."

            "Don't be sorry, Ethan.  It wasn't your fault, and I don't blame you.  You're a good guy, I have to say.  I don't know how I would've gotten through this if you hadn't kept checking up on me."

            At that moment, Beth showed up to hand them waters and take orders.  Everyone in town seemed to think highly of this woman, as someone unfailingly nice, dependable, and together, a real "good head on her shoulders, feet planted firmly on the ground" type.  There was something about her that gave Laura the creeps, though.  Maybe it was her eyes, with that slightly wild and unhinged glint forever visible in them.  Anyway, as soon as she left, Ethan continued from where they had left off.

            "I was happy to do it.  I know what it feels like, to suddenly lose the identity you'd had your entire life, and I didn't want you to go through it alone.  Speaking of which, how are things at home?  Any better?"

            Laura couldn't help smiling at her brother's earnest concern.  She truly couldn't believe how recently she had detested him, either; true, he is undeniably a doofus, but all things considered, a truly nice guy.  "I thought they were going pretty well.  I was getting used to living there, talking more, even "bonding," I guess you could say, with Jess.  Now, though, my mother suddenly has gotten it into her head that I'm 'out to destroy Miguel and Charity's love.'"

            Ethan nearly choked on his drink.  "You're joking!" he finally managed to spit out in between guffaws.  "Why?"

            "She thinks I'm in love with him or something, and before you say anything, no, I'm not.  I don't even care whether or not they get married, I just thought it was incredible that nobody was saying anything about how they are not ready to get married, and now she's convinced that I'm conniving against them."

            Ethan sighed.  "They're really getting married?  You're probably right about that.  But, I can't believe that Mrs. Bennett would treat you that way!  She always seems so nice and friendly and welcoming."

            Playing idly with her napkin, Laura shrugged resignedly.  "She is, unless she thinks you might possibly wind up a threat to Charity, and then you're the devil incarnate, which by the way, in this town seems to be an actual possibility."

            "What do you mean?"

            "You know, the whole freak show that Harmony is, and which our family seems to be the stars of!  You should know, I heard you almost got sucked into hell though a closet in the old Bennett house."

            "Oh, that," Ethan replied.  "Yeah, some weird stuff does go on around here all right, but you get used to it after awhile."

            "You're probably right."  Laura laughed a little.  "I barely blink anymore when everybody goes on about zombies and demons and psychic visions.  It's certainly not as upsetting as being singled out as a troublemaker when you haven't done anything."

            "I'm sorry about that," Ethan sincerely opined.  "Would you like me to talk to her, say that I know you, and you wouldn't do something like that?"

            Laura grinned.  "Thanks, Ethan, I kind of like being able to depend on you.  As strange as my mother can be, I'd like to have some sort of a relationship with my mother.  I mean, I'll never have that with your mother now."

            Ethan shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable.  "I know you don't want to talk about this, Laura, but maybe you should give her another chance to make things right.  I realize she must've done something lately that really upset you, but she there's been something strange about her the past couple of weeks, like she's not really herself right now."

            Sighing, Laura knew that she couldn't explain how Ivy was to Ethan; he wouldn't understand, and even if she could make him, it would disillusion him totally, and she didn't want to do that to him.  "You're right, Ethan, I don't want to talk about it.  That's all over.  Anyway, enough about me, that's all we've been talking about.  How have you been doing yourself?"

            Ethan's face fell, and she could instantly tell, and she could instantly tell just how miserable her brother had been.  "I'm…better, I guess.  It's just that I miss her so much."

            Laura took his hand sympathetically.  "I'm wish it all would've worked out with Theresa.  I don't really know her or anything, but I know how much you loved her."

            "I still do," he confessed, "and we'd be married now, if it wasn't for Julian and Alistair forcing her to stay a Crane."

            "Bastards," Laura said sharply.

            Ethan looked at her in shock.  "Laura!  You don't usually talk like that!"

            "Well, they are, and I've always believed in calling things by their right names.  They do this to her, they tried to keep Au—er Sheridan apart from that Luis guy, and they throw both of us out of he family without anything the second they, and we, find out we don't have any Crane blood.  I'm even lucky; they've just lost total interest in me, but you they've blackballed, and kept you unemployed.  I wouldn't take anything from them now even if they begged me to."

            "Me neither," Ethan agreed.  Presently, Beth returned with their orders and they continued on with their conversation, Laura enjoying the sympathetic ear to complain to and to commiserate with.

*****

            That night found Hank and Gwen once more skulking about the docks, though this time their vigil was proving to be a good deal more fruitful.  They had noticed that in one boat near the left end of the harbor fairly shady-looking people seemed to come and go frequently, sometimes carrying large bundles, though the boat itself never moved.

            Little by little, the duo moved closer, looking desperately for anything definitive.  When they were about thirty paces from the boat, Gwen suddenly motioned Gwen to stop moving.  He pointed at three guys standing around and talking near the end of the dock, about ten paces from the boat.  "See that guy on the right, the one who doesn't look too happy to be there?" he whispered urgently.

            Gwen squinted in the direction of Hank's outstretched finger.  "My God, it's Antonio!"

            "Yep," Hank replied with a grim satisfaction.  "I think we've hit the jackpot."

            After conversing together for a few moments, the three turned around and got onto the boat, after which they disappeared into the cabin area.  "I'd bet anything that this is the very boat they're using for the smuggling, and they've got it set up for their headquarters right now," Gwen mused.

            Hank agreed, and suggested that they move closer to get a better view.  Trying hard not to make a sound, they inched closer and closer to the boat, until they stood at the very end of the dock.  Deciding to take a big risk, they then climbed aboard as silently as they could, and hiding under the seats, they found that they could make out snatches of the exchange going on below.

            "Last of the cargo will arrive in two weeks…"

            "Should really try and set out that very night…"

            "Weapons smuggling?! Hey, I never signed up for…"

            "…Never signed up for anything, O'Leary, now shut up and do as you're…"

            "Our employer should be pleased…paying a great deal to see this done…once they get the shipment, the guerrillas will be instrumental for…"

            "Don't care what any of this is being used for, just as long as…"

            "Don't worry, you'll get paid, and very well, too.  Now, let's all loosen up.   Marks, Jerry, why don't you two go up onto the deck and bring back some scotch…"

            As soon as they heard the footsteps ascending the ladder, a panicked Hank and Gwen darted out of their hiding place and practically jumped off the boat onto the platform below as fast as their legs would allow them to.  Unfortunately for them, Marks saw them running away from the boat.  "Hey, boss," he yelled, "looks like we had a couple of spies just now!"

            "Don't just stand there like an idiot!  Get rid of them!"

            Off of their boss's command, Marks and Jerry jumped off the boat and followed our heroes in hot pursuit, each firing a couple of shots at the departing duo, one of which actually shot a hole near the top of Gwen's wide-brimmed hat.

            Hank and Gwen ran as they had never run before, through the waterfront section, ignoring all the passersby giving them odd looks, desperate to put some space in between them and their pursuers.  To their great good luck, Marks and Jerry did indeed have a hard time following them through the crowd, eventually losing sight of exactly where they were going.

            Reaching an area where the crowd had thinned into almost nothing, the couple darted into an abandoned building and hid in the shadows, hoping that their assailants would be unable to follow them.

            Their prayers were granted, because they heard the two thugs outside, poking around without much hope of success.  Finally, it seems, they gave up. "Great, we've lost 'em," one complained to his cohort.  "Nick's gonna kill us."

            "No, he's not," the other replied, keeping his cool.  "We'll just tell him that we bagged 'em, and he don't haveta know.  They're probably not a threat anyway; I'd bet anything they were just nosing around out of curiosity, and'll stay away now."

            "They'd better, if they don't wanna get blown away," the first one laughed, and their voices got farther and farther away until they faded completely as they set off in the direction of the harbor to report their "success" to Nick.

            Gwen and Hank let out a collective sigh of relief when they realized that the danger had passed and they were safe for the time being.  Still shaking violently, Gwen took off her hat and examined it, wriggling her finger through the bullet hole incredulously.  Stunned by her extremely close call, she turned to Hank.  "Oh my God.  Oh my God, we could've gotten killed back there!"

            "But we didn't," Hank, who had also been affected by their severe close call, replied, trying in vain to reassure her.

            "Well, there's plenty of time yet," Gwen spat back, feeling a surge of panic coming on.  "These guys are playing for real, and we haven't even got anything resembling a plan, and there's just the four of us, and whatever plan we do eventually come up with I'm sure will be incredibly dangerous, and I know I'm babbling but I just have no idea what I'm going to do!"

            Gwen probably would've kept right on ranting if Hank, caught up in the adrenaline that the chase had left him with, hadn't thrown aside all reservations and gathered Gwen into a long, passionate embrace.  In a normal situation, Gwen would have pushed him aside immediately and then proceed to verbally berate him for being so presumptuous as to think he could touch her.  Instead, Gwen responded wholeheartedly, her lips hungrily searching for his, each one heavily pawing the other.

            After a few minutes, however, it became necessary to break apart in order to catch their breaths.  As soon as they were able to, Gwen was the first who chose to speak.  Looking up at Hank, she found herself unable to respond as she had meant to.  "That was, uh, I don't know what.  Crazy, I guess.  I should be telling you that it was a one-time mistake, and not to expect anything else, but somehow, I just can't say it."

            Gratified, Hank smiled broadly, and moved in to kiss her again, but Gwen stopped him.  "We've still got a major problem here.  I don't see how we're going to get out of this alive!"

            "You're probably right," Hank admitted, unable to lie to her.  "By the end of all of this, one or both of us is probably going to be dead."

            "Then, what can we do?"

            To his own amazement, an idea suddenly entered Hank's mind that, try as he might, he couldn't put to rest.  Finally, he gave up and just decided to say it.  Smilling suggestively, he began.  "Well, I can think of _one idea.  It won't raise our chances of survival any, but at least it will make the end more interesting…"  He then lowered his head and whispered something into her ear._

            Astounded, Gwen stared up at Hank in utter shock.  "You want to…NOW?!  That's the most insane thing I've heard yet!"

            "That's not exactly an answer, Gwen.  What do you say?"

            She was about to tell him where he could stuff this offer of his, when something seemed to come over her.  Suddenly, she changed her mind and responded, "Sure, let's do it."

            Hank couldn't quite believe what he had just heard.  "Really?  You really want to?"

            Gwen nodded, absolutely confident and surprisingly together at the moment.

            Now Hank's grin reached from ear to ear.  "Alright!  When do you want to?"

            Gwen's reply to his question was a quick, "There's no time like the present."

            "You're sure about this.  As in, right now, this minute?"

            "Oh, why the hell not?" Gwen found herself, to her own surprise, actually laughing.  "We're probably going to die anyway!"

            Everything necessary to be said between them already having been said, Gwen and Hank ran off, both knowing they were most likely committing an act of pure insanity, but neither really caring at the present moment.


	27. The Prosaically Named Chapter 27

The next morning, Luis and Sheridan were gathered in the room that she and Gwen were sharing.Over the past few days, they had hatched the beginning of many a half-baked plan, but had been unable to get very far on the little information they currently possessed.As they worked so closely together, sitting across from each other at the small table located in one corner of the room, they could both feel an unspoken, unacknowledged tension in the air, crackling like electricity.Occasionally, one of them would glance at Sheridan's bed and, embarrassed, awkwardly avert their eyes as quickly as they could.

Right now, however, both of their minds were occupied not with thoughts of each other, but of ever-increasing anxiety over the safety of Hank and Gwen, who had not come back at all that night.As the hours went by, they became increasingly sure that something awful had happened to them.

Not able to take just sitting around anymore, Luis slammed his fist hard into the table's surface, causing the flimsily made piece of furniture to shudder violently."Damn it!" he shouted to the air, "They were supposed to get back here hours ago!I'm a cop; I should have been the one doing the recon here, not them.If anything's happened, it's all my fault."

"Now don't go and feel sorry for yourself!" Sheridan snapped, more out of raw nerves than any actual frustration with Luis."You know that you would've jeopardized the whole mission by doing so, and feeling guilty isn't going to help right now.Who knows, maybe they're okay, and are following some hot trail, or they're…" Sheridan's eyes opened up widely, "standing right here."

Indeed, Gwen and Hank had appeared in the threshold, somewhat the worse for wear.Clothes badly wrinkled, hair disheveled, and each sporting a dazed expression which, along with the telltale bags under their eyes, indicated that they had not gotten very much sleep the night before.Despite the mess that they looked, however, they did not appear at all distressed or unhappy.Seeing the two, Luis and Sheridan practically leaped up and dashed over to greet them.

"Thank goodness you're alright," Sheridan cried, hugging Gwen.

"Yeah," Luis added, relieved."When you didn't check in, we thought you'd been captured or killed or hurt or something."

Gwen and Hank looked at each other guiltily."Well, not exactly," Hank began to explain sheepishly."The thing is, you see, we, um, it sort of happened that…with everything going on, we kind of decided to, um, and then we, well…"

"We got married," Gwen interrupted finally.

"WHAT?!" Sheridan and Luis both yelled in perfect unison as they stared incredulously at their friends, jaws dropped.

"Well," Gwen started, "we found out where Antonio's being kept—"

"Great!" Luis exclaimed."Where is he?"

Hank went over everything that had happened, ending with, "and then they walked off and left us alone."

"Oookay," Sheridan intoned, still very confused."I got everything you said, but that really doesn't explain how you're married now."

Gwen laughed nervously."After nearly getting killed, you see, it sort of hit me how much danger we're all in, and Hank tried to comfort me, and one thing led to another…"

"I don't know what got into me," Hank confessed, "but suddenly I found myself asking Gwen to marry me, and somehow she said yes, so we went to a justice of the peace, and eloped."

They all stood in an awkward silence for a good length of time, until Luis finally said, "Well, congratulations, I guess, though I still don't know what drugs you two must've been doing.Anyway," he continued, thinking it best to change the subject for now, "Thanks to you two, we've got a fair amount of information to go on.We know where Antonio is, and which boat is being loaded up with the arms.On top of that, we know that they're planning to make the first run in two weeks, so we know how much time that we have."

"That's great and all, but we still have no clue about what that move will be," Sheridan pointed out.

Luis remained unflustered."True, but I think that it's obvious that we're gonna have to do.Some time before they make the run, we'll have to highjack the boat.Problem is, there are two things that we don't know: one, where the rest of the contraband is being stored, and two, when we'd have the best chance at gaining control of the boat.Now, the first problem isn't all that important, since the police will probably be able to find that out alright, especially if we're able to take one of them with us.But, I don't know how we're gonna solve the second problem."

They all stood in confounded silence for a minute, until Hank got an idea."Say, Luis, I'm pretty sure they couldn't actually see our faces.Maybe Gwen and I can hang around the harbor again, this time at a good distance though, and see if we can find Antonio alone; he might know something.I doubt they're guarding him that closely, since they know he won't do anything that he thinks might risk your or Sheridan's life. "

Luis let out a low whistle."I don't know, Hank; you'd be taking a big risk, you'd better know that."

"What do you say, Gwen?" Hank asked."Are you willing to chance it?

Gwen thought for a second.Sure, it'd be dangerous, but so was everything else about this mission they were on."Yeah, let's do it."

"Okay, if you two are really willing to take this risk, I suppose it could turn out to be a big help."Luis had given up trying to argue: everyone around him really was crazy, and he'd just have to accept it.Sensing that the new couple probably didn't want to be surrounded by a bunch of people, he continued, "Well, if that's everything for now, I guess we're done.Sheridan, how about getting some breakfast at the café?"

Sheridan nodded, instantly grasping why they were really leaving.Although she was dying to get Gwen alone and find out exactly how everything stood, she supposed she'd get a chance to do that later."See you later, you two," she said as she and Luis left.

The meeting over, and Sheridan and Luis departed, Hank sat down next to Gwen on her bed."So, Gwen, since we rushed out of that motel so fast earlier, we haven't really had a chance to talk about what happened last night."

Gwen sighed, knowing that this conversation was inevitable."What is there to talk about?"

Hank raised an eyebrow in her direction."We got _married, Gwen, and then, well, we had a wedding night, which was amazing, by the way," his eyes twinkled a little as we said this last bit."But, we've gotta decide what to do now.Do we try and make it work, or call it a mistake and get it taken care of so we can go on with our lives." _

Gwen chose her next words carefully.She knew her hasty decision to elope had been ill-advised, and that was an enormous understatement.And now, this man sitting right next to her was her husband.Husband.That word sounded strange, even without saying it out loud; in her heart, she'd never imagined that term applying to anyone but Ethan.Somehow, though, it didn't quite feel wrong, and she truly didn't know whether or not she regretted marrying Hank.She supposed that, in the end, she wouldn't know until their adventure was over, but, as she reminded herself pragmatically, the death of one or both of them would most likely make this all a moot point.

Laying her head on his chest, Gwen frowned doubtfully."I thought we agreed not to talk about any of this now, to just take it one moment at a time."

"Yeah, I know we did, but," Hank started to object, but was halted by Gwen, who reached out with her hands and gently pulled him down into a long, slow kiss.

"No questions?" she whispered when they pulled apart for a second.

"No questions," he conceded, gazing into her eyes hungrily, and drew her down onto the bed with him.

*****

Charity ran into the Bennett living room, her face tormented by the vision she'd just had.Everyone else was already there, for some reason or another.John was there, playing checkers with Miguel.David had been at the house, but, as was increasingly usual for him, some mysterious business was forcing him ti leave.Sam busied himself reading the paper.Grace and Jessica were pouring over bridal magazines in order to give Charity ideas.Laura sat with them, half paying attention, though she was really occupied with the amazingly gaudy painting Grace had just bought to hang above the fireplace._A big, cheerful chicken, Laura thought, revolted but unable to take her eyes off of it.__My God, she actually made a chicken painting the centerpiece of the whole room.It was incredible; in her experience, only Rebecca Hotchkiss had taste this atrocious.__She couldn't just get a nice Renoir or Van Gogh print?My old art history teacher would have a heart attack if he could see this._

_At the sight of Charity so distressed, Grace and Miguel rushed instantly over to her, and began the familiar comforting ritual."Something REALLY horrible is going to happen, I'm sure of it," Charity declared.This time, though, she wouldn't stand for any attempts to talk away what she'd seen."No, sorry, but there's no way I'm wrong.There was something else, though; I got the feeling that there's actually something I can do this time, but I really think that I've got to get married as soon as possible!"_

"What?" asked Grace, not following her niece.

"Huh?" said Miguel, totally lost by this point.

"If we don't get married as soon as possible, we never will," Charity insisted.

"I don't get it Charity, but if you want to get married right away, that's fine with me," Miguel assured her placidly.

"How soon do you want to?" Grace asked.

"Do you think we can have things ready in a few days, Aunt Grace?"

Grace took in a sharp breath.She hadn't expected it to be quite _that soon, but the urgency of Charity's inquiry prompted her to answer in the affirmative."I think we can just manage it.But, I'm warning you, it won't be anything fancy at all—"_

Charity hugged Grace fiercely, her mood greatly uplifted."Oh, thank you!And, I don't care if it's simple."

Charity then approached Laura and Jessica."I don't know what came over me, yesterday.I was going to ask you sooner, but Jessica, will you be my maid of honor?"

Jessica smiled, flattered."Of course I will!"

"Thank you so much," Charity responded sweetly."And, Laura, I know we haven't exactly known each other that long, but I'd really like you to be a bridesmaid.I understand if you don't want to—"

Although Laura still thought this whole thing was demented, she couldn't say no to such a sincerely made request."I'd love to, Charity."

"Oh, I'm so happy!Let's see, I'll also ask Simone, and Kay if I can get a hold of her…" and Charity trailed off, her uneasiness quickly forgotten as her mind filled with preparations for the wedding she just knew _had to take place immediately._

As soon as she could, Grace once again pulled Laura aside, ignoring the fairly infuriated expression that was plain on Sam's face."Laura, are you planning on using being a bridesmaid as a way to get closer to Miguel?" Grace asked seriously.

Laura had only been this irritated once or twice in her life."No!Do you want me to tell her I can't do it, because I will if you insist like this!"

Grace stared at her in disbelief."Of course not!This is Charity's special day and she should have anybody that she wants there, and if she wants you to be a bridesmaid, then you should do it."

Laura rolled her eyes._Charity's special day._It wasn't that she disliked Charity; true, her _was often incredibly annoying, but she was also one of the most truly good and kind people Laura had ever met, and she didn't realize how tiring she could be.Laura suspected that if she could be made to understand how everyone else was pushed aside for her, she'd be horrified."Alright, then, I don't see a problem.I'm going to be a bridesmaid, and you want me to be a bridesmaid.Isn't that the end of it?"_

Grace searched for exactly the right words."It's your motive that's troubling me.Yesterday, you seemed against it, and now you're part of the wedding."

"I'm part of the wedding because Charity _asked me," Laura explained evenly, grateful that she had, over the years, become an expert at not losing her temper."Now, I may think that they're making a mistake, but it's their choice, and it's none of my business.I was taken by surprise yesterday, that's all."_

"I wish I could believe you."

"And why can't you?" Laura fumed."Why do you just assume that I'm up to something devious here?Okay, I'm new, I get that, but would you have automatically suspected John or Charity like this?"

Grace pursed her lips into a bitchy scowl."This isn't about Charity or John, Laura."

When Laura gave her reply, it was in a tone not vindictive, nor accusative, but that of a judge calmly evaluating the value of a testimony versus the previously established evidence."As near as I can tell, Mother, it's always about them, in some way or another.The whole reason we're having this argument is that you've somehow gotten stuck on the idea that I've become a roadblock on the path to Charity's happiness, and nothing I can say is going to change your mind.Now, I'm not asking you to treat me the way you do those two; we've only known each other a few weeks, after all.However, I would like the same chance you'd give anybody else."

"I do _not favor anybody here, and who do you think you are to accuse me of something like that?"_

"I am your daughter," Laura said simply, now more weary of this whole conversation than she was angry."I know you'd rather I wasn't, for various reasons, but here we are, whether we like it or not.I realize I don't fit in here, no more than I did in my old life, nor any more than it sounds like Kay belonged in this house.I can get along without a mother; I managed pretty well before, but I'd rather not have you as an enemy for as stupid a reason as this.I'm going to go now, but before I do, I just want to give you some advice: why don't you pay some attention to Jessica?"

Grace narrowed her eyes."What does Jessica have to do with this?"

"Oh, nothing directly.I don't care so much, as long as I'm left alone, but your favoring Charity and John is really hurting her deeply."

Grace was about to protest, but Laura cut her off."Oh, she won't let you see it, but don't you know her well enough to see that that's just her way of dealing?She loves them, but this feeling of invisibility is slowly killing her, or driving her crazy, or both."

Grace was dumbfounded for a good long moment, as she began to be pricked by little inklings of doubt and guilt.Unwilling to admit her possible culpability, she brushed off Laura's words."Well, I've got to admit it; you're very clever in a pinch.So, I'll go and focus on Jessica, who's perfectly fine, leaving you free to pursue Miguel."

If Grace had slapped Laura across the face with every ounce of her strength, she could not have stung her daughter more."No, that's not the reason!Jessica really loves you, and she's in pain, and I told you this because I happen to like her, not to further some scheme of mine.I don't know what I've done to make you think I'm like that."

With a critically wounded dignity, Laura walked up the stairs, leaving Grace to tell herself that she didn't ignore Jessica or hold her son and niece on a pedestal.Sam, meanwhile, could only glare at his wife, witnessing a side of her that he never had seen before, and which he did not like at all.

*****

"_Mi hija, you know I can't accept this," Pilar declared as Theresa, carrying Ethan Martin, opened the door to the brand new Lopez-Fitzgerald home._

"Yes, of course you can, Mama," Theresa replied, dragging her mother around on a tour of the house."I know you're going to go on and on about 'evil Crane money,' but really, after working for them all these years, don't you deserve it?"Theresa was ecstatic to be able to do this for her family, and only wished that she could have brought the rest of them here for the grand unveiling, but with Luis and Antonio missing, Paloma still living in Mexico, and Miguel in permanent residence at the Bennett house and attached to Charity at the hip, only her mother was available.

"You're right, I _am going to go on and on about not taking Crane money," Pilar insisted, refusing to be impressed by the nice size and tasteful décor of the place."It's tainted by evil, just like the family, and I only wish there was a way for you to break free of them."_

Theresa became silent for a second, and Pilar was instantly sorry that she had said that."You know I wish I could too, Mama, but you also know that I can't," she said quietly, cuddling her baby."And, the Cranes aren't all bad.Sheridan, wherever she is, is one, and so is Little Ethan here.You certainly don't think he's evil, do you?"

Smiling in spite of herself, Pilar patted her grandson's head."Of course I don't.There are some good Cranes, but that doesn't mean that their money isn't evil."

Theresa rolled her eyes."You raised us on Crane money, Mama."

"That's different.I came by that through honest work."

"Well, after all that they have done to our family, don't you think that they owe us a place to live?And besides," Theresa smiled the smile of one who knew she was delivering the clincher to an irrefutable argument, "you've been living at Grace's Bed and Breakfast.Do you know how much money you must be losing her?Can you really do that, take up a room, two rooms when Luis is there, indefinitely and for free?"

"No, I can't," Pilar said slowly.

"Well, then, wouldn't you rather live here, in a house under your own name, than in the Crane mansion itself?And, who knows, now that the family has a house again, maybe Paloma can come home."

"That would be wonderful," Pilar admitted."Oh, alright, Theracita, you win.I'll accept your gift."

"Thank you!" Theresa squealed happily."Now, if you'll just let me convince you to give up this job of yours—"

Pilar shook her head and crossed her arms, indicating that there would be no more concessions on her part."No, I am keeping my position as head housekeeper.You're wasting your time trying o convince me otherwise."

"Okay," Theresa conceded, deciding to pick her battles."So, do you like how everything looks?"

"I love it.The house is absolutely beautiful.You must've spent so much time picking everything out."

Theresa took a seat on the living room sofa, and beckoned her mother to sit down with her."I had a blast doing it.It was a great diversion.Speaking of which," Theresa's eyes now shone with a slightly maniacal gleam, "I'm trying to find the perfect way to bring down Ivy, and I thought that you might have some good ideas."

Pilar backed off, startled that her daughter would ask such a thing."No, I don't, and I wouldn't tell you if I did.You should be ashamed of yourself, for plotting like this!"

Theresa was completely floored."_Me ashamed?!_After everything she's done to me?I don't think so!"

"That doesn't mean you have to sink down to her level.Anyways, I've noticed a change in her.I think she's feeling guilty about everything she's done."

Theresa was not swayed whatsoever."Don't tell me her acting somewhat nicer is actually fooling you!Oh, she's behaving different, all right, but that's only because she's up to something."

Pilar sighed.How could she get her daughter to listen to her without revealing that Ivy was suffering from amnesia?"Whatever it is, can't you just show some dignity and not resort to all this scheming and manipulation?"

"Don't you see, Mama, I'm doing this for my own protection.Both Ivy and Rebecca have it in for me, and for myself and my son, I'd better get them before they get me."

*****

"What's going on here?" David asked as he entered Kay's room, though the sick pit in his stomach told him that he already knew the answer.Ivy was sitting near the door in her wheelchair as Kay busied herself by drawing a fairly elaborate diagram out of some chalky substance on the hardwood floor.Even before Ivy started explaining it to him, he knew that they were about to perform the spell that would bring Ivy Crane back into the world.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" he asked earnestly, after Ivy told him about the uncertainties and dangers of the spell."There could be terrible consequences."

Ivy's countenance was a picture of nervous resolve."Do you really think things could turn out _worse than they are now?" she asked, laughing weakly._

"I guess not," David murmured, wondering if he'd have the strength to stick around and watch the woman he loved disappear, to be replaced by his worst enemy.Finally deciding that he just couldn't up and leave right now, he kneeled down beside her, yearning desperately to tell her how he felt, but recognizing the folly that such an action at this time would be.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" David asked, looking into the depths of Ivy's mesmerizing blue eyes, as if for the last time.In a way, after all, it was; who knew if he would ever again see just that indescribable something ever again that marked them indisputably as belonging to Ivy Winthrop?

"No, _David, I'm just about done," Kay scowled at him, looking up from her drawing."Thanks for the offer," she added in a tone of voice dripping with an insincerity bordering on sarcasm._

A worry line creased Ivy's brow.She'd evidently been noticing this change in Kay who, even at the best of times, was not the most agreeable girl around.Now, the young Crane heir seemed to be getting more disagreeable (and somehow scarier) every time he saw her, a tendency which seemed to be bothering her (is 'future' the proper term in this case?) mother, though there wasn't much she could do about it at present.

"Say, David," Ivy started, looking at him apprehensively.

"Yes, Ivy?"

"It's just that, well, you've done a lot for me during this whole mess, and I'd just like thank you while I have the chance."

David smiled."It was nothing, Ivy."

Ivy shook her head adamantly."No, it wasn't.I was your enemy, and you really helped me when I needed someone.I know Kay was blackmailing you into it, but you did so much more than you had to, and I'm grateful for it."

David cupped his hands over hers."I was happy to do it.Yes, I did, and still do, hate the other you, but that's not how I feel about you."He slowly bent his head down and chastely kissed the back of her right hand, though as he did so, an electric shock seemed to reverberate all through his body.

If Ivy felt a similar sensation, she didn't show it, although his gesture did bring a slight smile to her face."Thank you, David.I don't know what the other me had on you, or what you might've done in the past, but whatever it might have been, I know that you're a good man.I hope that, afterwards, that I don't keep on blackmailing you, but I might, and if I do, I just want to say that I'm sorry for it, and that—"

But whatever else Ivy wanted to say would forever remain a mystery, because an impatient Kay interrupted, having finished her preparation.Once again spreading some kind of goo on each of Ivy's cheeks, Kay said, "There, it's all set.All that's left is to actually say the words.David, you can stay if you like, but don't distract me in any way."

David nodded, and Ivy rolled over to the position which Kay indicated.Kay herself stood across from Ivy, mentally preparing herself to cast an enchantment.Finally she commandingly spoke the words,

_For That One Once Made Younger, By Magicks So Bold_

_Bring the Soul From the Ether, Now Make This One Old!_

Once again, a white cloud enveloped the room, making sight impossible.David kept his focus locked on the spot of Ivy's wheelchair, struggling to make something out.Slowly, the smoke dissipated, and Ivy became visible again, though David's heart stopped when he saw that her head was hanging limply down, and she was lying perfectly still.

"Oh God, Kay," he whispered, thoroughly horrified."You've killed her!"

Kay shook her head."No, I haven't.The same thing happened last time.Look at her face; the streaks have disappeared.The spell worked, though what that means exactly, we have no way of knowing until she wakes up."

Cautiously, the two moved closer to the unconscious figure, waiting with baited breath until, finally, the woman opened her eyes, and began examining her surroundings.

*****

While waiting for the spell to be performed, Ivy tried not to think about what it would be like to wake up afterwards.If she had been pressed, however, she would have expected all memory of the past couple of weeks to be blotted out, as the soul of Ivy Crane reclaimed control over the body.What actually happened though, was something else entirely.

When Ivy's eyes opened, a flood of experiences rushed over her, threatening to overwhelm her overcrowded mind.In what seemed like an eternity, but was in reality only a few seconds, she desperately tried to sort everything out, to gain some coherent idea of what the hell was going on.When she could make some sense of it, she realized that she could remember everything.In fact, not only was her entirely life up until the original spell now known to her, but she could also recall, to her surprise, the entirety of the interim period as Ivy Winthrop.If she had had time to dwell on this fact, she probably would have found herself wrapped up in an identity crisis of sorts, but as it was, she was soon distracted by Kay's worried questioning.

"Mom?Is that you?Can you remember who you are, or who I am?How much do you remember?Do you—"

"Kay," Ivy laughed, "easy now.Yes, I remember everything, my entire life.Your spell worked."

Profound relief and happiness was clearly written on Kay's face, and she hugged her mother fiercely, murmuring, "I'm so sorry for everything, Mom, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Kay," Ivy whispered, wondering to herself if it was.She didn't know how to feel about anything anymore.Although she could clearly remember being Ivy Crane, and everything she had done as her, somehow she felt different about it all, embarrassment and shame just beginning to creep up on her.

"I'm so glad," Kay began, after they parted."I was so afraid that it wouldn't work and that I'd make everything worse.How does it feel right now?"

"Strange," Ivy replied, taking another look around her, her eyes resting for a time on David, as an odd mixture of gratitude and guilt swept over her."I remember everything that happened in between the spells, what it was like not having any memory of over half of my life."

Kay looked taken aback."Really?I didn't think it would work that way, though I guess it all makes sense if you think about it.Say, I was wondering, now that you're back and everything, do you want to try something else to get Sam Bennett back.I'll be more careful this time, do a lot more research, but I really think we'd be able to do something that could turn the trick."

Ivy stared at her daughter in shock.She had thought, hoped at least, that such a disastrous experiment would convince Kay to give up on this dabbling of hers.Looking into Kay's eyes, though, Ivy could tell that, although she felt bad about this one incident, she had not learned her lesson.Furthermore, Ivy Crane was now absolutely certain about that chill in the girl's demeanor that Ivy Winthrop thought she had detected.Even at a moment like this, when Kay was overcome with positive, caring emotions, Ivy could feel something darker, more deadly about her than she had been able to before the first spell.Something had happened to her in the intervening period which she had not been privy to, of that Ivy was sure."No, I don't think so, not after this," Ivy finally replied.

"Alright," Kay shrugged."It's understandable that you wouldn't want to."Then, looking at her wristwatch and gaping in surprise at the hour, made to leave."I'm really sorry, I wish I didn't have to go now, but there's somewhere really important that I have to get to right now.I'll see you later, and we can talk more then."

On that mysterious pronouncement, Kay hurried off leaving David and Ivy alone.For a long time they remained in an uncomfortable silence, neither knowing what to say, until David finally pulled up a chair and sat next to Ivy."So, you really do remember everything, Ivy?"

"Yes, I do," Ivy answered, not looking him directly in the eyes._This is stupid, she suddenly thought to herself.__True, I wasn't myself for a while, but that doesn't mean anything has to change.Calling up her inner bitch, she suddenly glared at David in a desperate attempt to reclaim her old ferocity."But you'd better not think for a second that it's going to be any different now, __David.Just because you played suck-up while I was down for the count doesn't mean that you're getting off the hook.In fact, we've got a lot of lost time to make up for now, so you're going to work harder than ever at breaking Sam and Grace up."Ivy had a good deal more to say, but was stopped short when she happened to glance at him and caught a look, not of anger or exasperation, but of hurt, and maybe even sadness in his eyes.She couldn't go on; everything she had been trying to repress suddenly assaulted her again full force.She remembered how many times she had blackmailed him, only now, against her will, she felt absolutely horrible about it._

Ivy recalled, in rapid procession and with a painfully acute accuracy, the rising horror she had felt at discovering each and every terrible thing that she had done: her blackmailing of David, her increasingly despicable schemes to win Sam back, all the times she had threatened Eve, even going so far as to have her daughter drugged, and, last but certainly not least, her complete and utter willingness to act as an accomplice in the attempted murder of Theresa.In a moment of awful clarity, it hit her just what a horrible person she really was, and furthermore, just how much she hated being this way, and how much she hated that she hated being this way.

She broke down, startling David, and heaved out a series of low, wretched sobs as she struggled with this new epiphany."I'm sorry, David, for everything I've done, you're free."

David raised his eyebrows; this was the last thing he expected to her after her previous tirade."Free?"

"Yes, I've given up.You don't have to go through with any of this.I won't do anything to you if you stop now."

Not knowing what to say or do, David awkwardly tried to pat her on the back, while he replied, "Thank you, but I don't really know where that came from."

"I just can't do this anymore," Ivy confessed miserably."I want to be able to so badly, but I just can't.Before, I could scheme and threaten, and I felt nothing.Not a single thing.Now, though, it's like I can remember what it's like to have a real conscience, and it's killing me."

David of course felt sorry for Ivy, but nevertheless found it necessary to hide his joy when he realized that she hadn't just reverted back to the person she had been."At least this means that you do have one now."

Ivy laughed bitterly."God, how I wish I didn't.I'd give anything to just not feel this way right now.I want to go back to how I was, but wanting to just makes me hate myself even more.Who am I right now, anyway?I'm different than I was before, somehow, but what exactly _has changed?"_

Try as he might, David himself could not find an answer to Ivy's frantic questions.He himself didn't know who it was before him, although he did know that, whoever it was, he was still in love with her.That wasn't relevant at the moment, however, so he sat there, wishing that he could do something to help, but knowing that what Ivy really needed was time to come to terms with her dilemma for herself.


	28. The Prosaically Named Chapter 28

            "Kay, dear, you're really just not concentrating," Cassandra admonished earnestly as Kay once again failed to summon up enough power to cast the spell that Cassandra had been teaching her.  "You were like this during our session yesterday, too.  Is something the matter?"

            Kay averted her eyes, annoyed to be affected by her worries like this.  Wasn't becoming the True Heir supposed to make all those horrible human emotions go away?  "It's just that I'm worried about my mother," the teenager admitted.

            "Really? Is there something wrong with her?" Cassandra asked, feigning a mild concern.

            "Oh, it's just that I'm afraid something is going to happen to her, with my step-mother Theresa so obviously out to get her," Kay lied, shuffling her feet.  She certainly didn't want to tell Cassandra all about how she had cast a spell on Ivy that had been reversed only yesterday, and that her mother could now sense that something was wrong with Kay, and was trying to get to the bottom of it and help her.  Against her will, Kay experienced a prick of guilt and shame when thinking about it, and felt her resolve about being Cassandra's Heir waver ever so slightly.  "I wish I could get Theresa out of here, but she is legally married to my father, and has her son, my half-brother, to tie her here."

            "Your half-brother?" Cassandra laughed mischievously.  "You mean your nephew, of course."

            Kay stared at her ancestor in astonishment, not able to believe what she had just heard.  "Are you telling me that Ethan Martin isn't my brother after all?"

            Cassandra sauntered ever so slowly over to a small gilded cage in a near corner of the chamber and took out a large brown rat.  Stroking it playfully, she replied, "Certainly course he is not.  When I am in the presence of somebody, I can sense instantly whether or not they possess Crane blood, and I assure you, 'Little Ethan' is no more a Crane than this little fellow I'm holding right here.  He is in fact the offspring of none other than your brother, the former imposter Crane 'Big Ethan.'"

            Kay slid down onto a nearby Luis XIV chair as she processed this revelation.  "My nephew.  Then, there's no reason that Theresa has to stay married to my father at all!  That would solve this whole mess: Ethan would be happy, Theresa wouldn't be my step-mother, and she'd probably be so ecstatic that she could divorce my father and marry Ethan that she'd forget to persecute my mother!  Why haven't you made it known that the Cranes are raising a non-Crane?  I wouldn't think that you'd like that?"

            Cassandra gazed into the rat's eyes, and, satisfied, placed the rodent on a small table.  Whatever she had done to it, the creature sat perfectly still, turning its head to look around, but making no attempt to escape.  "All in good time, Kay.  If there's one thing that you really need to learn, it's patience.  I have a feeling that Theresa might be of use to us in the distant future, after we've gotten rid of certain threats that will come our way shortly, so I'd like to keep her close by.  As for the brat, he's no longer in line to inherit the fortune, so spending a small amount of money on his upbringing in the meantime is a small price to pay.  I'll deal with him properly when the time comes," she smiled wickedly, giving Kay a decidedly unpleasant sensation in the pit of her stomach.  As if sensing that now was a good time to distract Kay, Cassandra motioned for her to come over to her.  "Now come here, dear.  This next spell I'm going to teach you is absolutely crucial to your eventual victory.  I'm using a perfectly good rat, and I would prefer it not to be a waste."

            Kay complied, though the expression on her face was one of revulsion.  "You don't mean that you actually _eat these things, do you?!"_

            "Not as a preference," Cassandra replied casually, "but one cannot always have prime rib.  Vampires, unfortunately, basically live off of small animals, with the odd human thrown in as a special treat."

            Kay made a face.  "Yuck.  I'm sorry I asked.  Anyway, what is it that you're going to teach me?"

            "In battle," the vampire began in a roundabout manner, "throwing blasts at your enemies is all well and good, but one surefire method to get rid of a nuisance is to perform _Thanatos__' Embrace.  It's a Nosferitia, though vampires don't use it much, as we prefer a much more direct way of killing.  It instantly saps a creature of its life force, leaving it dead.  We'll try it on this rat; it's fairly easy to cast on nonsentient beings.  Sentient ones, however, are another story.  The first time you perform this on one of them, it will require a phenomenal amount of power and concentration, and will take a good long moment to call up.  Luckily, every kill after that first one will come relatively easily.  Now, I want you to focus all of your energy on this rat, and when you can instinctually feel that you have summoned enough power, speak the words, __Pretul pestelui a crescut astazi."_

            Taking a deep breath, Kay forcibly cleared her mind of all her problems and concentrated on the tiny creature lying helpless before her.  Slowly, she felt the energy deep from her inner reservoir wash over her.  The first time she had felt this sensation, it had been quite astonishing, but by now she was used to it and, jaded, she proceeded with the task at hand.  Finally she knew, without knowing how she could know, that she was sufficiently powered up, and calmly spoke the words.

            The rat shuddered, and fell still, it's formerly russet-colored coat transformed into a pale shade of gray.  Kay gasped, amazed that taking a life could be such a brilliant, heady experience.  The rodent's stolen life force flowed into her body, and Kay felt more alive than she ever had, as if she had become the very essence of that which is living, with the uninhibited ability to determine to end a life, and thereby feed on life itself.  Kay briefly wondered if this sensation approximated what vampires experienced while draining there victims; she decided that it had to be.

            The rat's living energy was not very great, however, and her euphoria soon vanished.  For a split second, she became desperate for something else to kill, to once again be invigorated by the death of a living creature.  When she realized how she was thinking, however, a profound uneasiness settled in.  She had become okay with the idea of destroying any enemies that might stand in her way, but to actually crave killing for its own sake?  A part of Kay was not sure that she wanted to become that kind of monster, although another part whispered that, yes, she wanted that desperately.

            Cassandra smiled at her prodigy with a look of pure, unadulterated pride.  "Very well done, and on your first try, too.  How was it?"

            Kay looked up at her ancestor uncertainly.  "I-I've never even imagined anything like that."

            Cassandra giggled, her mocking impersonation of youthful innocence somehow gaining a level of horror that not even the most vicious action could achieve.  "Yes, it is a bit of a rush, is it not?  And that was just a rat, too.  You cannot even begin to grasp how you'll feel after taking a human life.  Would you like me to try and find someone to practice on, or do you have somebody already in mind?"

            Unconsciously, Kay took several steps backwards.  "You mean, just kill some random person?!"

            "Well, of course.  Do you want to cast it for the first time on someone who might have a chance of fighting back in the meantime?"

            Kay had to admit that Cassandra's argument made a lot of sense from a rational standpoint, but the thought of it still made her squeamish in spite of herself.  "I still don't know…" she began.

            Cassandra interrupted the girl, however, before she could finish.  "Oh, silly of me, you would of course need time to think it over, decide who, if anyone in particular, you wish to use.  I have kept you for a good long while now, so why don't we simply call it a day?"

            Kay took this pronouncement as her cue to beat it, and, after respectfully saying goodbye, left to go and check on her mother, hoping that she could continue to hide her secret life as the True Heir from Ivy.

            When Kay had left, Cassandra could barely contain her glee.  "Oh, Kay, you're even better than I always dreamed my Heir would be.  It's such a shame that you're still so reluctant to take that final step.  It's no matter, though: you will, and I know exactly whose death will make that happen."

*****

            Julian stood morosely in the doorway to his bedroom, limply holding a couple of rubber suits.  "But, Rebecca, 'Catwoman and Batman' is one of your favorites!"

            Sitting on the king-sized bed, Rebecca shook her head obstinately.  "No, Pookie, I'm just not in the mood right now!"

            "And why not?" Julian challenged, flopping down on the bed and snuggling up next to her.

            "I've already been telling you!  Gwen's missing and I'm much too worried about her now to think about anything else."

            Julian raised his eyebrow suggestively.  "_Anything else?"_

            Rebecca pursed her lips in an expression of firm resolution.  "_Anything_.  If you want to play, then you'd better put all that Crane power to good use and find her!"

            Julian sighed impatiently.  "We've been through this before, Becks.  The police department has already been notified of the disappearances, and they're conducting a search.  Furthermore, we've hired a private detective to do some investigating.  If those five are still alive, they'll turn up sooner or later.  Now, why don't the two of us have our own private party right here?"

            Squeaking periodically, Rebecca forcefully shoved Julian away from her, and unceremoniously onto the floor.  "**_IF_ they're still alive?!  My sweet little Gwennie could be lying murdered in some God-forsaken ditch, and you want to do the horizontal tango?!"**

            Julian looked up at Rebecca sheepishly.  "Well, yes, technically, in a way, that is—"

            "Well you can just forget it!" Rebecca screeched, in a voice that scared Julian almost to the point of cowering under the bed.  "Right now, the only thing on my mind is finding my poor lost baby.  Who knows what horrible, traumatic ordeal she might be going through right now?  Oh, it's like there are some horrible forces that have been plotting against her for the past two years, and now this!  Let me tell you, if anything has happened to her, the scum responsible is going to be VERY sorry."  She made this promise in a tone of voice so low and dangerous that Julian, despite his innocence, could not help feeling a stab of fear.

            Nevertheless, the determined Crane man had not yet given up.  "Of course, we're going to do everything we can to locate her safe and sound.  What's so wrong about having a nice romp first?"

            He had hoped that this argument would cause Rebecca to waver, but instead the redhead glared murderously at her "Pookie."  "This isn't up for discussion: If you want to play, then first you've got to find my Gwennie!  Now, if you're not going to be any help, I'm going to go see someone who WILL do something!"  

            With a huff, Rebecca flounced out of the bedroom, leaving an annoyed Julian staring after her.  For his own sake, and that of Little Julian, Julian hoped fervently that Gwen would turn up, happy and healthy, very soon.  In the meantime, he decided, he'd just have to content himself with the most delectable young chambermaid that had just recently started working at the mansion…

*****

            Alistair jumped in his chair the second he realized that Cassandra had entered the room without his notice; no matter how many times she did that to him, it still gave the old man a dreadful shock.   "What's the matter?" he asked, sighing resignedly.

            Rapping her long fingernails on his desk, the vampire responded.  "It's Kay's progress I'm worried about."

            Alistair was surprised.  From all of the progress reports, and Cassandra's own assertions, his granddaughter had been coming around right on schedule, whatever exactly that was.  From the extensive tutoring Cassandra had been giving her, he knew that there was something different about her, although he had not yet been told what exactly.  "What's wrong with her?  You said before that she's shaping up quite well."

            "Oh, she is," Cassandra assured him.  "All the potential is there, and it's slowly being realized.  Just earlier today, she made a major breakthrough.  However, there is now a roadblock in the path.  Her mother, I believe, is the other significant (and conflicting) influence in her life right now, and might just one day try to turn her away from her rightful path."

            "It figures," Alistair sneered.  "Ivy did just about the same thing when Ethan was the heir.  Well, the problem is easy enough to solve: it would be no trouble at all to have her eliminated."

            Cassandra abruptly fell onto the chair across from him, clutching her unbeating heart in astonishment.  "Typical," she muttered, and as she recovered her voice gradually took on more and more of its usual mocking scorn.  "Absolutely typical of a man.  No sense of subtlety, no creativity whatsoever.  You see an obstacle, and before even contemplating the situation through, you just decide to load it up with T.N.T. and blast it to kingdom come."

            Alistair scowled, resenting the lecture.  "Alright then, why wouldn't having Ivy killed be a good idea?" he challenged her.

            "Think for a minute," Cassandra began to explain, enunciating her words slowly, as if she was speaking to a young child, "Kay, for all her tendency towards evil, at the most fundamental level desperately wants to be loved.  Now, she believes that nobody from her former life loves her, and that has filled her with a most wonderful seething rage that I can work to my advantage.  Unfortunately for us, however, she also believes that Ivy now truly cares about her, and therefore is all too likely to listen to her.  If she were to be killed, Kay would be inconsolably grief-stricken, and if she had even the slightest suspicion that the Crane family was somehow responsible, why, we'd lose her forever.  In fact," Cassandra added, her bright emerald eyes conveying a most serious warning as she spoke, "that would be the least of your problems.  You have no idea just how much power is in that girl; to be honest, I'm not sure _I could survive her wrath if she gets much farther along, and as for you…" she smiled threateningly, letting Alistair's imagination finish the sentence far more effectively than even she could._

            Alistair gulped.  "Okay, I get your point.  How do you suppose we deal with the mother, then?"

            Cassandra leaned back languidly in the chair, apparently not overly concerned.  "Simple.  We discredit her, make Kay believe that she doesn't love her, which, given that woman's track record with her children, we should be able to do easily and with genuine believability.  Then, I go to work, turn the hurt into rage, make Kay hate and despise Ivy.  At my urging, Kay will kill her herself.  Can't you just see what an elegant conclusion that is?  Ivy will be out of the way for good by her daughter's own hand, _and Kay will have crossed over to our side once and for all, all at the same time."  Cassandra smiled a little at her own cleverness.  It __was such a good scheme, and to manipulate Kay into using her mother to perform __Thanatos__' Embrace on a human for the first time!  Cassandra once again mentally congratulated herself on setting it all up.  Thank goodness that Timmy had found the spell she had laid out on her desk for him!  If Ivy had remained as that spell of Kay's had left her, then her entire plan simply would not have worked!_

            Despite himself, Alistair was highly impressed.  "Very good, I have to admit.  Have you also figured out just how are we going to manage accomplishing all of this?"

            "Sit back and I'll explain," Cassandra casually ordered.  "And you'd better pay attention, because this stage is absolutely critical to the future success of the Crane family."

*****

            In the Bennett living room, all of the usual suspects were gathered, plus David, who had been absent so much over the past couple of weeks, and Father Lonigan, finally officiating at the annulment to Grace and David's "marriage."  With Ivy no longer harassing him, David was free to "suddenly" come up with the papers he'd been sitting on for months now.  Try as he might, though, he couldn't quite bring himself to tell Grace and John that he was a fraud.

            "Now," Father Lonigan serenely intoned, there is only one last formality, and then I may declare your marriage officially annulled."

            Sam grinned, ecstatic that he and Grace would soon be able to be a real married couple again.  He'd been so angry with her lately, but he was still hoping that her unfair treatment of Laura came as a result of the stress she was under from the David situation.

            "What is it?" David asked, eager to put all of this deception at least partially behind him.

            "On the annulment papers, you have stated that you are no longer in love with Grace.  In order for the annulment to be valid in the eyes of God, you must now swear that you have told the truth about your feelings."

            All eyes in the room were now on David, as half of them expected him to crack and confess his undying love.  After a moment, he solemnly gave his reply.  "No, I'm not in love with her anymore," David said sincerely.

            Everyone, with the exception of two people, breathed a sigh of relief.  John looked rather upset, as he hoped that somehow his mom and dad might still end up together. Grace, also, looked rather perturbed.

            "Okay then," the priest continued, "in the name of God I—"

            "Wait, Father!" Grace yelled, drawing shocked looks from all except Father Lonigan.  "David, do you _really mean that you don't love me anymore?"_

            "Yes, Grace, I do."

            "David," Grace pleaded passionately, "You've taken an oath under God.  Your immortal soul is in danger if you lie.  Please tell the truth."

            David stared at her calmly.  "I don't love you anymore, Grace."

            Grace was not convinced in the least and, ignoring Sam's angry glare, she kept needling her "husband."  "David, I don't want you to risk going to hell for this annulment.  Please, for the sake of your immortal soul, don't lie!"

            "Grace," David said evenly, "you're a wonderful woman, and I was very much in love with you. However, I've managed to move on with my life, and I am being perfectly honest with you right now.  I'm sorry if that's upsetting you."

            Grace looked utterly flabbergasted, and Laura choked, fighting to hold back a snicker.  She _had_ been right about her mother secretly wanting both men to be in love with her.  Although Laura was not a naturally malicious person, she couldn't help enjoying the three-ring circus for which she had a front-row seat.  On the other hand, she feared that the bad mood this rejection would inevitably put Grace in, coupled with even more time to focus on Charity would result in yet more delusional accusations that she was after Miguel.

            Sensing a hostile situation forming, Father Lonigan acted to diffuse it.  "David has maintained that he has spoken the truth.  Therefore, your annulment is complete."

            "Thank you, Father," Sam said through gritted teeth, "and thank you, David, for standing firm under my wife's cross-examination.  Grace, what's gotten into you?!  You just sounded as if you didn't want that annulment!"

            "Of course I do!" Grace protested self-righteously, "I just don't want it to be at the expense of David's soul."

            Sam rolled his eyes, totally incredulous.  "David is a grown-up, Grace.  He can look after his own soul."

            "Do you really want a marriage based on a lie?  If David still loves me, then we're still husband and wife in the eyes of God!"

            The audience shifted uncomfortably, uneasy at being witness to the outright blow-up surely on the horizon for these two.  Fortunately, at that moment they were saved by an incessantly ringing doorbell, which sounded as though someone was continuously leaning on it.  "I'll get it!" Laura yelled before anybody else had a chance to, and ran for the door.

            "Why, Mrs. Hotchkiss, what are you doing here?" Laura asked, more confused than ever to see Rebecca standing in the doorway, looking like her usual trampy self in four-inch heels and a tight, short, leopard-skin dress.

            "That's Mrs. Crane," Rebecca snapped, not even bothering to look at Laura as she hurried into the house with an appearance of urgent impatience.

            "Chief Bennett!" she cried, approaching Sam and Grace, who had forgotten their quarrel amidst this bizarre intrusion, "I went to the police station and they said that you had the day off.  You have to find Gwennie!"

            "Rebecca," Sam sighed, "We've already gone over this before.  You've lodged a missing persons report with the bureau already—several times, in fact—and we're doing everything we can to locate your daughter, as well as the others."

            "Oh, yes, I know that," Rebecca asserted impatiently.  "But you don't _understand_!  Of course, it's best if you can find the others, but you've just got to find Gwen!"

            "You do realize," Laura piped up, "that, considering how five people all with a relationship of some kind, went missing all at once, they're probably all together, so that finding one most likely means finding the others."

            Rebecca stared at the former junior socialite in horror.  "You're not suggesting that Gwen is off sleeping around with all three of those men?!  Because my Gwennie would never do that, even if they _are all extremely handsome, and well-muscled, and…"_

            Rebecca's eyes gained a dreamy, far-away gleam in her eyes, not noticing that everyone in the room was gaping at her with an open mouth.  Hastily, Laura explained herself.  "No, Mrs. Hot—, I mean, 'Crane,' I was just saying that my Uncle Hank is best friends with Luis, who is Antonio's brother, both of whom are in love with Sheridan, who's best friends with Gwen."

            Rebecca came crashing back to earth.  "Oh, yes, of course, silly of me.  I'm sorry, Laura.  Say, did I ever tell you how sorry I was to find out that you're not really a Crane after all?"

            Laura shook her head.  "Not as such."

            "Well, I am," Rebecca avowed earnestly.  "It was such a shame.  I always hoped that you and my James might get together, but now that you've got no name, it simply wouldn't do."

            "Gee, thanks," Laura murmured as everyone else bristled somewhat at Rebecca's implied insult to their family.  Rebecca wasn't paying attention, however, because the thought of one of her children immediately brought her mind fretfully back to the missing one.

            Turning back to Sam, she began again.  "Let me make myself perfectly clear: I want my daughter back as soon as possible, and I want you to find her."

            "This case has the full attention of our officers," Sam insisted, trying very hard not to lose his temper.  After all, as over-the-top as Rebecca could be, as a parent, he could not help sympathizing with her plight.  The very idea of losing a child terrified him, and he would certainly move heaven and earth to find them.

            Rebecca looked as if she was about to burst right into tears.  "Oh, I just hope Gwen's okay.  To think that she might be all alone, and she's so innocent and trusting, too.  Why, when Theresa was first plotting to take Ethan away from my baby, I warned her that Theresa was a gold-digging bitch, but she just wouldn't believe me.  She didn't see the lying slut for the tramp that she really is until long after it was too late!"

            "HEY!" Miguel yelled, shooting up from the couch he had been sitting on with Charity.  If Rebecca had been a man, he would have instantly attacked her.  "That's my sister you're talking about here!"

            Rebecca blinked in surprise, taking notice of Miguel for the first time.  "Really?" she asked.  "I didn't know that Terrorcita had another brother.  You're not around much, are you?  I must say, you Lopez-Fitzgerald men _are_ such a good-looking lot!  Young man, if you're ever in need of a job, don't hesitate to call me.  I'm sure we'd be able to arrange _something."_

            Miguel appeared to be very uncomfortable, everybody present stared incredulously at Rebecca once again, and Charity unconsciously grabbed onto Miguel's arm, unable to believe that her fiancé had just been propositioned by a middle-aged…well, Charity didn't want to use any of the adjectives that sprang to her mind.

            Father Lonigan stepped in, hoping to diffuse the situation and offer comfort and guidance to this woman who, he forced himself to remember, was, although wayward, also one of God's children.  "Rebecca," he said, "we are holding a prayer vigil at St. Margaret Mary's tomorrow night.  Why don't you come and pray for your daughter?"

            "Good idea!" Rebecca enthused.  "I've tried everything else; I might as well go and get God to work for me now!"

            Father Lonigan closed his sightless eyes in vexation.  "It doesn't exactly work that way, Rebecca."  He stopped, however, because although he could not see the blank expression on her face, he sensed that his words were not getting through right now.

            "Rebecca," Sam said evenly, wishing to end this invasion so that he could have a serious talk with Grace, "you did come in here in the middle of an important family manner."

            Rebecca did not take the hint.  "So what?" she asked.  "This is about my Gwen!  Nothing you people could be doing could possibly be half as important!"

            At this point, Sam, as well as everyone else, had had enough.  "We want them all found just as much as you do, and we're already making this case our number one priority.  So you see, your coming in and demanding that she be found won't make any difference.  Now, if you please, I'd appreciate it if you don't call on me while I'm at home with my family again."

            "Okay, okay, I guess I'll be going for now," Rebecca declared, looking around her as it had finally begun to sink in that she had managed to offend every single one of them in one way or another.  "But mark my words, Chief Bennett, if anything horrible happens to my Gwen, and I can prove that you might have prevented it with better investigating, I'll destroy you, personally, and professionally."  Her point made, Rebecca scampered away, presumably to yell at someone else about finding her "Gwennie."

            Watching Rebecca go, Laura, in a state of disgust nevertheless tempered with a strange kind of reluctant, envious awe, muttered under her breath, "Now THERE'S a mother who cares!"

*****

            That night, Charity was visited by the Little Angel Girl.  She had been sleeping, and didn't know whether the Angel really had appeared to her, or if she was having a visionary dream.  In the end, she supposed, it didn't really matter.

            "Why have you come here tonight?" Charity asked, totally unsurprised by the angelic presence.

            The Angel smiled sadly.  "I think you already know why I'm here, Charity."

            Charity nodded.  "I do.  The evil really is coming, isn't it?"

            "The evil isn't coming," the Angel girl corrected, "it's here right now, and gaining power."

            Charity moaned.  Deep down, she already knew this, but she hadn't wanted to admit it to herself.  "What's going to happen?  None of my visions ever show me the outcome."

            Now, the Little Angel Girl looked very serious.  "That is because there are two possible outcomes to this.  Even we do not know how it will end."

            This was too much.  Why was she the one being burdened with knowledge of this kind once again?  "Why are you telling me this, and why am _I_ the one, out of everybody in Harmony, who keeps getting premonitions about all of these things?"

            "Because, Charity, you are Good's best hope in this town."

            Charity stiffened up in surprise.  Whatever she had been expecting the Angel to say, it certainly hadn't been _that.  "Me?!  How can I be anything important like that?"_

            "Charity," the Angel said gravely, "it is time that you know something about yourself.  We have kept a great deal of knowledge from you because you were not yet ready to handle it, but now the time has come.  You must have wondered why evil forces always seem to be after you."

            "Well, yes, I did, but—"

            "It is because you are a great threat to them, Charity, though you do not yet realize it.  You're special, our Chosen One."

            "_Chosen__ One?" Charity tried those words out loud; it just didn't seem possible that they could be applicable to her!_

            "Yes, you have great powers to combat the evil that resides in Harmony, and, indeed, in the entire world."

            "But, how could I be as powerful as you say and not even know it?" Charity protested, growing more and more convinced that the Angel had contacted the wrong girl.

            "Because they have not yet manifested," the Angel explained patiently.  "You will come into them when you reach womanhood and not before.  You will need them very soon, though, if you are going to prevail in the battle ahead.  Good luck."

            "Wait!" Charity cried as the Angel girl disappeared.  She still had so many questions left to ask: what exactly her powers were, when she was going to need them, what evil she was going to face, and how she would need to use them.  _I guess I'll just have to have faith that God will give me these answers when I need them, she thought to herself._

            Although this thought gave her some level of comfort, Charity was still very distraught.  So much depended on her, according to the Angel, and Charity still could not believe that she was anything as special as had just been indicated.  Nevertheless, she must be if her heavenly visitor had told her so, and her claim that Charity must first enter womanhood convinced the girl more than ever that the wedding must take place the day after tomorrow, as they had all decided upon.  For now, Charity decided, that was all she could do: take things one day at a time while preparing herself in any way she could for the trial by fire that no doubt awaited her.


	29. The Prosaically Named Chapter 29

(A/N: This chapter has taken me a little longer to complete than I had hoped, but hopefully its fairly long length makes up somewhat for the delay.  My spring semester classes have at last started up, so while I will continue to write whenever I have the time, updates may become rather erratic.)

            "Did the annulment go alright?" Ivy asked as David handed her a cup of tea.  Some part of her raged at the disappointment of her now thoroughly ruined scheme that she had planned so meticulously, but she just couldn't make herself go through with it anymore.

            "Yes, it's done now," David replied, cringing a little as he remembered the whole embarrassing episode, with Grace practically begging him to tell her that he loved her.  "No more phony marriage."

            Ivy smiled, though she wasn't sure how she really felt about this.  "Good, I guess.  I'm so sorry that I put you through all of this in the first place.  I know that you've really fallen in love with Grace, so it must have been really hard on you."

            "Not as difficult as I would've thought," David answered before thinking.  Then, to distract Ivy from the awkward question she was no doubt forming, he quickly added, "At least, it couldn't compare to anything you're going through, with everything that you're dealing with.  It must be absolutely awful," he said sympathetically.

            "Horrible," Ivy conceded.  "It's so confusing.  But I can't focus on myself right now.  Kay's in trouble."

            "There's something wrong with her?" David asked politely, though privately he agreed that there was something _very _wrong with that girl.

            Ivy nodded soberly.  "I'm absolutely sure of it.  Sometimes I look at her and it's like she's some horrible monster.  It's horrible, I know, to talk like this about your own child, but I can't help feeling it.  Something's being done to her, but I just don't know what.  I know this sounds crazy…" she laughed a little, but there was no joy in her demeanor.

            David shook his head, showing support for her.  "Hey, after what happened to you, your nineteen-year-old self being transported into the present, and by a spell Kay herself cast, I don't think that sounds crazy at all."

            "Oh God," Ivy muttered, "what a mess.  But no matter what, I can't let her know a thing.  If she catches on, everything will be ruined."

            "What do you mean, 'ruined'?"

            "She's being influenced, I know it.  I do believe that she listens to me, though.  I have to try to influence her myself, get her to come to her senses, but without actually preaching to her.  With her personality, if she thinks she's being lectured at, she'll close up and stop listening."

            Tactfully, David held his tongue.  He wanted to warn her to be careful, for he neither liked Kay nor trusted her for a second.  In his opinion, the girl was as volatile as a landmine, ready to go off without warning at the slightest provocation.  True, she did have at least one redeeming quality in her admittedly genuine love for her mother, but he couldn't help but believe that it was the sort of affection that could so easily be transformed into a hateful violence.  However, he simply could not try to discourage her from at least attempting to make a difference.  If nothing else, he knew that he would just be wasting his breath.  As a parent himself, he knew that nothing he could say would shake her resolution.  He would have, and in fact to a great extent already had, sacrificed virtually anything for John, and what desperate lengths he would go to if his son was in the same mess as Kay he could only imagine.

            "I hope your plan works," he finally said to her.

            Ivy took a sip of the tea, allowing the drink to work its calming magic on her.  She had been trying to kick her addiction to painkillers, and the withdrawal she was still suffering from had left her feeling constantly jittery.  The tea managed to soothe her edgy nerves a little, though it remained a constant struggle.  "I hope so too," she sighed.  "God, how I hope so.  Despite everything, I love Kay, though I doubt many people will ever believe me.  Not that I deserve to be believed, of course.  After how I lived my life, hell, **_I_** wouldn't believe me if I was in another person's shoes.  I've led an evil life, David; I can see that now.  But if I can just keep the same thing from happening from her, I'll…" she trailed off, searching for just the right words to articulate her thought.

            "Then maybe, in a small way, it'll be like you've redeemed yourself?" David finished for her.

            Ivy nodded soberly.  "That's it, I guess.  Does it make any sense?"

            "I understand it completely," he affirmed, thinking that this endeavor might be extraordinarily beneficial for her psyche: it would prevent her from focusing on her own crisis, and would give her a tangible purpose to strive towards.

            "For Heaven's sake, when and how did everything get so screwed up?" she wondered, her voice beginning to choke up, until she glanced down at her wristwatch and realized what the time actually was.  "Oh great," she exclaimed, not sounding terribly enthused.  "I'd better get going.  It's almost time for me to have a little 'talk' with Alistair."

            "You have a meeting?  About what?"

            "I have absolutely no idea," Ivy commented as she gingerly set her cup and saucer down.  "But questioning that man too much when he wants something is never a good idea.  He probably wants me out of this house, so I don't 'tarnish the Crane name' any more than I already have.  I'd better be careful about how I go about this."

            David looked at her, concerned.  "What do you mean?  You don't think it's safe?"

            "Oh, don't worry about me.  I'll be alright.  It's just that it's always important not to lose your temper with Alistair, and to try to address him on his own terms. When he's insistent about something, you'd better go along with him as far as you possibly can, and not challenge him every step of the way.  I don't think he'll go as far as actually ordering me out, though, so I'll be okay."  With that, Ivy rolled out of the room, feeling reasonably prepared for whatever the Crane patriarch might try and throw at her.

*****

            "Okay, so why exactly is it a bad idea to cast a Nosferitia on a vampire?" Kay asked in response to a warning that her ancestor had just given her.  "Does it not work or something?"

            "Oh, it works," Cassandra assured her.  "Most of the time, at any rate.  One can never be totally sure.  The thing is, Nosferitia is meant to be used by vampires against other creatures, not against other vampires.  It clashes with the other vampire's own magic, and the backlash can be dangerous, even deadly, to the spell caster.  I certainly wouldn't recommend it, unless you had absolutely no other choice. "

            "Good, I'll remember that," Kay murmured as she gazed deep into the eyes of a rat, leaving it in a motionless stupor just as she had seen Cassandra do before.  Without any visible emotion, she uttered the fatal words, and felt the now familiar thrill as the small creature's life force left its body and flowed into hers.

            "Very good," Cassandra said, "you've mastered mesmerization in a remarkably short time.  "I think that's quite enough for today.  So, how is your mother's situation?  Any change?"

            "No, not really," Kay replied nonchalantly, though Cassandra could easily tell that the girl was trying her best to hide a sizable portion of guilt.  "Theresa can talk all she wants, but I'm pretty sure that there's nothing she can actually do to either of us."

            "I should say not," Cassandra agreed readily.  "You're the Heir, and if you want your mother to be protected, then there's nothing that that upstart can do about it.  I must say, the relationship that you've developed with Ivy Winthrop Crane is one of the most remarkable I've seen in three-and-a-half centuries of observing human behavior."

            Kay cocked an eyebrow inquisitively in Cassandra's direction.  "What do you mean?"

            Cassandra absently straightened a shelf on one of the bookcases with a studied nonchalance, her back turned to Kay.  "Oh, just that, for a woman who is known far and wide for two primary character traits, a complete and utter ruthlessness when it comes to pursuing something that she wants, and a notorious disregard for all of her children other than Ethan, to so totally embrace and bond with a daughter who just showed up out of nowhere, and without any apparent ulterior motive, it's no less than miraculous."

            Kay squared her shoulders ever so slightly, feeling defensive and yet lacking anything in the vampire's speech to latch firmly onto as an attack or challenge.  "She's not at all like what most people think of her.  She's really misunderstood."

            "She certainly must be.  After all, for a woman at her stage of life to undergo a complete change of heart, for no obvious reason whatsoever, it would force me to totally reevaluate everything I have come to know about human nature.  You are incredibly fortunate, Kay."

            "Yeah, I guess I am," Kay asserted with a forced confidence, though she felt the first sickening hints of uncertainty, which she had kept suppressed since her argument with Laura on the night of the party, begin to take a hold of her.  This insecurity began to work on the dark recesses that her training with Cassandra had opened up within her soul, and for a brief instant Kay was overcome with a violent anger, until the still-rational part of her brain dismissed such worries as sheer nonsense. 

            Suddenly, Cassandra turned away from the bookcase and turned to face Kay.  "Oh, how silly of me, I almost forgot: Alistair told me that he wishes to speak with you as soon as we've finished down here."

            Kay rolled her eyes.  "Oh, great, I suppose he's going to go over a bunch of boring, pointless stuff with me, just so he can pretend that he's actually in charge of something around here."

            "I've no doubt.  Still, there's no harm in humoring the man, and it _is_ important for you to learn something of the straight business side of Crane operations, for which he'll either take you on himself or hire a tutor."

            "I guess you're right," Kay admitted.  Snickering a little, she added, "and besides, it's always fun to let him know in really subtle ways that I'm the one with the power now.  I'd probably better go now.  See you later."

            In a fairly cheerful mood Kay began the task of making her way out of the labyrinthine set of passageways, not knowing that Cassandra stood watching her as she departed, serenely smiling a cryptic smile.

*****

            Surreptitiously exiting the opening of the secret passageway, Kay calmly strolled across the hallway to Alistair's study, and had actually gripped the doorknob in her right hand, ready to enter, when she was stopped by the sounds of two voices emanating from within the room.  

            _Hmm, that's odd, Kay mused.  __Alistair must have forgotten that he had scheduled to appointments at the same time.  That doesn't seem at all like something he would do.  He must be getting old and senile.  Smiling, she took that as a sign that her eventual ascension as the head of the Crane Empire (and so much more) could not be too far in the future.  __Still, she thought, her mind bringing itself back to the issue at hand, _I wonder who he's talking to, or what this is all about.   _Curiosity instantly getting the better of any discretion she may have had, she pressed her ear to the door, eager to hear what was going on._

            To her surprise, Kay heard her mother's voice addressing her grandfather.  "I know you didn't call me up here just to make small talk, Alistair, so why don't we get to the point?  What do you want with me?"

            Alistair's voice chuckled softly.  "You never were one to mince words, Ivy.  Not even when it would have been in your best interests to be a little less blunt.  If you must insist, though, I'll tell you: after all the trouble you've caused, I think that it's high time you've left the mansion."

            _Oh, he wouldn't dare! Kay thought viciously.  She knew perfectly well that he wasn't the one really calling the shots, and that he couldn't do something like this without the approval of her or Cassandra._

            "You're going to try and throw me out," Ivy responded.  Kay could detect a hint of nervousness in her voice.

            "Not exactly.  As long as Kay wants you here, I'll let you stay if you insist.  But really, Ivy, apart from her, nobody of any import wants you here, and I don't see why you would insist upon staying, considering how you've considered this place to be a prison for so many years."

            "I have every reason for staying here, Alistair.  My daughter, my family—"

            "Oh come now, Ivy.  There's no use using this sort of rhetoric on me.  I am neither young enough nor naïve enough to buy into it.  You certainly can't deny that this is not the family you wanted."

            "Well, no, if you put it that way, but—"

            "And you must admit that, had you had a choice, the only child you would have even had would have been your bastard Ethan.  And of all your children, it seems logical that you would have the least feeling for your youngest.   At the best of times, you've barely done more than neglect them anyway.  Do you refute any of this?"

            "No," her mother's voice said quietly.  "I don't."

            Kay bit her tongue, violently fighting back the urge to call out and give herself away.  Surely her mother couldn't have meant what it sounded like she did.  She was just misunderstanding her words.  And what did her grandfather mean by his comment that "of all the children," she should feel the least for her.  Was it just that she was new to the family, or was there something else?

            With a slight sigh of satisfaction, Alistair continued.  "Now that we've unmasked any 'motherly' concerns for what they really are, let's get to the real reason you're staying: money.  Come on, don't bother denying it.  It's no secret that you've been contesting the divorce, trying to get you claws on whatever you could of the estate.  Well, I'm prepared to offer you a deal: promise to leave quietly, and you will be paid $15 million, cash, and deeded one of the Crane summer homes.  You've always been fond of the cottage on Martha's Vineyard, haven't you?"

            "Absolutely not!" Ivy's voice spat back.  "You can't buy me off that easily."  Kay felt gratified for a second, until her grandfather answered her.

            "Be reasonable, Ivy.  This isn't the time to get greedy.  I know that you think that you'll get a much larger piece of the pie, since Kay has been named my heir, and the two of you enjoy such a 'close, loving' relationship.  But really, now, your favored position lasts only as long as she views you in a positive, and how long do you think it will be before she turns against you?"

            "That's _never going to happen."  Although Ivy's voice remained level, it clearly contained a rising anger, threatening to break out onto the surface at any moment._

            "Oh, really?  The girl's bright enough to figure you out sooner or later.  Everyone knows what you really want, and just how much you're capable of doing to get what you want.  The only reason she hasn't started suspecting you yet is that she's so affection-starved and desperate to believe that someone cares about her that she's willing to buy almost any line you feed her.  Eventually, though, she'll catch on, and then, I won't have to give you anything, so you'd be wise to consider my offer now."

            "She's not going to 'catch on,' Alistair, because I'm going to make damn sure that she doesn't suspect me even for a second.  Not ever."

            Unable to bear any more of this incriminating evidence against her mother, Kay fled from the doorway, hot tears burning her face.

*****

            If Kay had stayed just a moment longer, she would have heard all of her fears put to rest, for Ivy had finally had enough of Alistair's accusations.  "Look here," she seethed, looking him straight in the eye.  "God knows I've made more mistakes than I can ever make up for, but I'm not putting on an act right now.  I know you're incapable of understanding this, but I love my daughter, and this isn't about how much money and status I can get from her!"

            "It isn't?" Alistair flinched inwardly, thinking to himself that he had pushed the conversation too far, too fast.  It didn't matter, though; from the slight scuffling noise he had heard a moment ago, he could accurately surmise that Kay was no longer listening, and he had accomplished his objective.

            "NO!" Ivy shouted, and if she wasn't trapped in her wheelchair, she would have jumped right up to scream in his face.  "I know the Cranes have something planned for her, are trying to do something, or get her to do something, or something like that.  Rest assured: as long as I'm alive, you're not going to get your way with her.  I'll make sure of it."  As soon as she had stopped ranting, however, and the realization of what she had just said had sunk in, her heart stopped in her chest, and her breath choked in her throat.  She knew perfectly well what Alistair was capable of, and how people who dared to openly cross him like this had a nasty habit of vanishing into thin air.  How could she be so stupid?!

            As if to confirm her worst fears, Alistair smiled.  Ivy had always thought that there was something demonic about her ex-father-in-law's face, and this pseudo-congenial grin only exaggerated the effect.  "I'd be more careful about what I say and do if I were you, Ivy.  It's really not terribly bright.  Luckily for you, though, I happen to be in a fairly good mood, so I'll let your little indiscretion slide.  This time.  For the time being, if you insist, you may continue to live on the manor, but this may not be the wisest, or safest, path for you in the long run."

            Ivy gulped, understanding full well that she was putting her life on the line by remaining in the house.  As wracked with guilt and misery as she'd been lately, she still had a fierce survival instinct, and certainly did not want to risk her life.  It didn't matter, though; she knew, instinctually, and without knowing how exactly, that Kay was in great danger, from herself or from some external force or both, and Ivy would protect her, no matter what, as long as she had a single breath left in her body.

*****

            Hearing the sound of hurried footsteps long before the figure of a distraught-looking girl running purposefully towards her became visible in the entrance to the lair, Cassandra decided with a smug satisfaction that Alistair must have come through on his end with flying colors.  Kay was right on schedule, too.  Any sooner, and the girl would have caught her in the middle of doing some "editing" on what constituted the critical portion of the plan.  "Why, Kay, whatever is the matter?  I didn't expect to see you again today.  Has Alistair sent you down for something?"

            Kay glared at her ancestor, her reddened eyes no more than one step away from suggesting an outright threat.  "Is there a way to know?  For sure?  How somebody else really feels?"

            Cassandra inched over towards the girl, her body language conveying a careful concern.  "Why do you ask?  What's wrong?"

            Kay mopped up her tears with her left shirtsleeve, and tried her level best to stop sniffling.  "I need to know for sure whether or not my mother really loves me, or if she's just using me to hold onto the Crane name."

            The vampire held a hand up to her mouth in surprise.  "You surely don't mean that you found something out, about—"

            Kay cut her off impatiently.  "Yeah, I did.  I overheard her talking to my grandfather, and the things she said…well, let's just say it didn't sound good."

            "Oh, Kay, I'm so sorry.  You must be so hurt," Cassandra clucked sympathetically.

            "Can the crocodile tears for now; you might not need them.  What I heard was bad, but I might have just misunderstood some or all of it, but I just have to know either way.  You must have a way to find that sort of thing out, with everything you seem to know about everybody here."

            Cassandra took a step back, uncertainty written on her face.  "I don't know, Kay.  There is a way to spy on her and see what she will not tell you, but I have to warn you, sometimes the truth is better left buried."

            Kay stood her ground, unwilling to be swayed by some sort of weak warning about 'painful truth.'  "It's always better to know," she insisted.  "I've had enough people lying to me and pretending to care already, and I'll be damned if I get taken in by it ever again."

            Cassandra sighed, and motioned for Kay to follow her to a far, dimly lit corner of the cavern.  "If you insist, but you may soon be sorry that you ever asked me.  If it's true then you'll be crushed, and if it's not then you'll feel horrible that you actually stooped to spying on your mother.  However, I can see that you're determined to do this, so I will help you."

            When they had reached the corner, Kay saw that in it stood a table concealed by a gorgeous, rich, black satin covering.  Cassandra ceremoniously pulled the cloth away to reveal a shard of crystal, about the size of a large serving tray, one side of which was smooth and clear, and in which Kay's reflection stared back at her, sharper and clearer than any mirror she had ever looked into.  The rest of the crystal sparkled, its seemingly millions of little faces each glittering, despite the relatively tiny amount of light available for them to reflect, with an incandescent light that, though brilliant, did not hurt her eyes even in the slightest.  To her senses, the entire object practically hummed with a considerable magical aura.

            "What is that?" Kay asked, gaping at the magnificent crystal with an admiring awe.

            "This," Cassandra explained, once again adopting the now familiar tone of a teacher, "is a Cryssallis.  It functions somewhat along the lines of its more familiar cousin, the crystal ball, but this is a far more accurate, and more versatile, piece of equipment.  With a crystal ball, one can ask vague questions about the future, and hopefully see something in it resembling an answer, or possibly no more even than a clue to that answer.  With one of these, one can inquire about specific matters about the past or present, though the future tends to be ultimately unreliable, and it will show an answer with remarkable precision."

            "Wow, cool."  Kay continued to stare appreciatively.  "Why would anyone even bother with a crystal ball, if they could have one of these instead?"

            "Because, in most cases, they couldn't.  Cryssalles are extremely hard to come by, and incredibly expensive even if one can manage to track one down.  Even I am very fortunate to have one, and it has proven absolutely invaluable to me over the years."

            "Makes sense."  Kay forced herself to stop admiring the beauty that the apparently infinite beams of light all dancing together on the crystal's surface continually produced; after all, there was a much more important issue at the moment.  "Okay, how do we use this thing?"

            "I'll ask the question; it knows me, and will listen to my voice.  Don't say anything until you've seen and heard enough, because a human voice will cause it to 'disconnect,' so to speak."  She focused her attention on the crystal, and intoned, "O Cryssallis, display before us the last time Ivy Winthrop Crane discussed her daughter Kay with anyone other than Kay or Alistair."

            The mirror side of the crystal flashed a milky white for a second, and then dissolved into a view screen, showing Ivy and David engaged in a conversation.  Periodically, the transmission seemed to jump a little, but the basic gist of it went like this:

            _Ivy nodded soberly.  "That's it, I guess.  Does it make any sense?"_

_"I understand it completely," __David said to Ivy, eyeing her sympathetically.  "__It must be absolutely awful."_

_"Horrible," Ivy replied.  "Sometimes I look at her and it's like she's some horrible monster.  __Oh God, what a mess.  But no matter what, I can't let her know a thing.  If she catches on, everything will be ruined."_

_David looked at Ivy seriously.  "I hope your plan works."_

_Ivy sipped her tea calmly.  "I hope so too," she sighed.  "God, how I hope so—"_

            "TURN IT OFF!" Kay screamed, and the surface of the crystal instantaneously reverted back to a mirror.  _Oh God, Oh God, Oh God, _the words reverberated perpetually in her mind, as she began to hyperventilate.  There was no way that she could mistake what she had just seen and heard: her mother was plotting, and with _David_, of all people, to use her, and she didn't even like her!  Her mother put on a great act, but in reality looked at her with nothing more than disgust.  The sobs came fast and loose as Kay clutched at her chest, trying her very best not to collapse right there on Cassandra's floor.

            "I was afraid of this," Cassandra murmured, professionally keeping any hint of triumph out of her mannerism.  "I didn't want to be the one to say it, but it was the only logical explanation."

            Kay looked pale and sick, as if she had just been kicked in the stomach.  "That's it, then," she stated emotionlessly, her voice inaudible to any but Cassandra's ultra-sensitive ears.  "There's nobody, not a single person in this whole damn world who actually cares.  I'm all alone."

            "Yes, you are," Cassandra agreed, waiting until Kay was focusing on her again to continue.  "It's one of the sacrifices that comes along with being my Heir.  I'm sorry that you had to learn it the hard way, but now you know that you can never have any sort of real human connection.  It may seem horrible now, but do not despair, for although you are alone, there are certain other 'compensations.'  You will have the means, and the opportunities, after all, to punish all who have wronged you, who have treated you as worthless, or, at best, as a commodity, however you see fit."

            Once again wiping the tears from her eyes, Kay looked at her ancestor with a fresh perspective.  The rage had not gone away; rather, it had metamorphosed from a debilitating pain into something which felt productive, useful, almost…enjoyable.  "You're right, Cassandra.  As soon as I get the chance, I'm going to make that bitch pay for what she's done to me."

*****

            Later that night, and far away from the Raven Hill mansion, two morose figures sat at a kitchen table, a tray of Martimmies placed at an equal distance from each one.

            Draining a glass in one gulp, Timmy sat back in his chair.  "Timmy can't believe that his sweet Charity is really getting married tomorrow.  Timmy always thought that she would fall in love with him someday, and forget about Miguel.  But now that will never happen."

            "Yes, that must be very difficult for you," Tabitha muttered in between sips, deciding for the moment to humor her little lad.  

            "Yeah," Timmy replied, looking glum, but then perking up a little.  "But Timmy wants Charity to be happy more than anything, and if Charity really loves Miguel, and if marrying him makes her happy, well then, Timmy's happy too."  Timmy stuck his chin out bravely in a stoic pose.

            Tabitha scoffed; sometimes, Timmy was just too much, even for her.  "Well, Timmy may be happy, but very soon, Timmy's going to be very dead."

            Timmy stared blankly at his princess.  "Timmy doesn't understand."

            The witch threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.  "Now there's a shocker!  Think, lad, if you haven't already had too many Martimmies for higher-level brain activity.  I'll spell it out for you if I must: Charity marries Miguel.  They make love.  She comes into her full powers.  With those powers, she destroys all the evil in Harmony, which means that it's curtains for the two of us."

            After grabbing another Martimmy glass, Timmy sat back and laughed effortlessly.  "Is that all Timmy's princess is worried about?"

            "Isn't that enough?!  I've run out of ideas to postpone the wedding, my powers haven't returned enough for me to stop it with witchcraft, and our friends in the basement suddenly don't seem too concerned.  Most likely, they've decided to leave Cassandra to the evil-mongering in this town and have resolved to pull out, leaving us trapped here as a punishment for failing so many times!  I'd say our situation here is very dire!"

            Timmy remained unphased.  "It would be, if Charity's powers were really going to destroy Timmy and Tabby, but Timmy doesn't think that they will."

            Tabitha sighed.  "I must admit, Tim Tim; you might be right.  _You might very well be spared, seeing as how the forces of goodness have taken a shining to you for playing the hero in their little drama.  However, and don't think for a second that I'm not grateful that you might make it, but that still leaves __me in a bit of a spot."_

            The boy just smiled knowingly.  "Tabby isn't going to die any more than Timmy is.  You're not evil, Princess; you just think you are."

            Despite the serious nature of her dilemma, Tabitha burst out into an uproarious laughter.  "Now I _know_ that you've had one too many Martimmies!  I've been working for the Dark Forces for thousa—, er, I mean, hundreds of years!  I've been the cause of more chaos, pain, and destruction than you could wrap your little brain around.  Saying I'm not evil is like saying that NBC _doesn't have a knockout primetime line-up!"_

            Timmy thought for a second.  "You're right that NBC has the best TV shows, but Timmy's right about you not being evil.  Timmy knows that you've worked for evil and done it's bidding, but Timmy also knows better than everyone that his Princess has a good heart that she's just been keeping hidden.  You even saved Charity so that Timmy wouldn't die.  God will see what's really in your heart, and you'll be spared so that you can become good."  Timmy made this pronouncement with the complete and utter conviction of one who was only explaining an undeniable truth.

            Tabitha leaned forward in her chair, wobbling a little under the influence of Timmy's intoxicating elixir.  "You really do live in your own little word, don't you?  Yes, I saved Charity, and I love you, but that doesn't mean that I'm not still rotten to the core, thank you very much.  No, Timmy, I'm afraid that this wedding has sealed my fate."

*****

            At the Bennett House, preparations for the fateful event had gotten well under way.  Grace was dashing about like a madwoman, obsessing over every detail for her Charity's wedding, while putting the finishing touches on the wedding dress and baking the tomato soup wedding cake.  Charity, forbidden by Grace from pitching in, as this was to be her "special day," eventually gave up protesting and sat in the living room with Miguel, ever mindful of the clock, as she just could not let her future husband see her on their wedding day.  Miguel was getting somewhat anxious; when he was finally forced to leave, he'd have to go to the new Lopez-Fitzgerald house, but, since he had never actually set foot in his new home, he was not sure if he could find his way there all by himself.  John ran various errands for his "mother," until Grace became worried that he would overexert himself, and sent him off to the Bed and Breakfast for a good long rest.  Sam, on the other hand, was not so fortunate; Grace had him running around left and right, getting this and finding that and picking up some last-minute whatever.  Because of the upcoming wedding, he didn't want to argue with his wife, but he was determined that, as soon as things settled down to a somewhat normal rhythm, the two of them would have a good long talk and set a few things straight.

            Laura and Jessica, meanwhile, were engaged up in their room, trying on their bridesmaid dresses.  Laura, for her part, briefly wondered just where the dresses had come from, but then decided that they probably originated from the same place that the rest of the diverse formalwear that the Bennetts seemed to wear at regular intervals did.

            "How do I look?" Jessica asked, twirling in place in front of a full-length mirror.

            "Perfect," Laura replied, "lavender really is your color."  Then, smiling confidentially, she added, "And yes, I'm sure that Reese will love it."

            Jessica beamed.  "I hope so.  You know, I think he's just about ready to ask me out now!"

            "What did I tell you?  Looking like that, I bet he'll ask you out at the wedding.  You'll certainly be better off than me, anyhow.  This shade really doesn't flatter my complexion at all."

            "I think you look perfectly fine," their mother butted in, sticking her head in the doorway to see how the preparations there were going.  Entering the room, she shot Laura a pointed look.  "After all, you're not the one who's getting married tomorrow."

            "No, I'm certainly not," she replied carefully, hoping to avoid yet another confrontation over her non-existent designs on Miguel.  "And yes, I agree that the bride should be the standout on her wedding day, Mother."

            Grace didn't look too sure, but decided to let it drop, for the moment, and began rambling on about the various little catastrophes that she had been averting and the chores that still remained.  "…oh, and Sam should be back any minute from dropping a bridesmaid dress off at the Russells for Simone.  We never did get through to Kay, but her people said that she was just too busy to make it.  Tabitha and her nephew said they couldn't make it to the church for the wedding, but will try to be at the reception.  Pilar's a little upset, since she had hoped that Miguel's brothers would be found in time for the wedding, but I told her that Charity was really firm about the wedding being held as soon as possible…"

            About halfway through the monologue, Laura stopped listening, at first out of boredom, but then a strange sensation suddenly overtook her.  She felt extraordinarily dizzy, her mother's voice became muffled, as if coming from a great distance, and her entire field of vision blacked out, to be filled by a rapidly changing series of highly disturbing images.  Her head ached badly, but what really shook her was the overpowering sense of fear and danger that she was experiencing.

            In hardly any chronological time at all, it was over, and she found herself collapsed on her bed, Grace and Jessica bent over her prostrate form.

            "Laura, please, say something!" her sister pleaded, obviously extremely worried.

            Grace, to her credit, also looked fairly concerned.  "What happened?  Are you alright?"

            "Aunt Sheridan…boat…blast…" she began moaning before she could stop herself.  When she realized that her response was being greeted with blank stares, the truth of what happened finally sunk in._  Oh, this is just great,_ she thought sarcastically, highly irritated as well as alarmed.  _I can't believe it.  I'm turning into one of **them!**_

            "I had a premonition!" she exclaimed, even more surprised to hear herself say those words than either of the other two.  "Aunt Sheridan, and some other people, they were in a boat of some kind, and they seemed really afraid, and then there was some kind of energy blast, and everything went all white!" she blurted out, horrified by what she now knew she had just seen.  Back when she had thought that she was a Crane, Sheridan had been one of the very few relatives whom she had actually liked, and she had been far more upset to learn of her 'death' at sea than when she had received news of Julian's 'murder.'  They had never had a chance to get very close, due to their age differences and to the fact that by the time Sheridan had really been allowed to come home, Laura had already been shipped off to school, but they always got along whenever they did meet.  Sheridan was also the only former family member, other than Ivy, who had even bothered to visit her when she had been in the hospital after her car accident.  Laura had been worried ever since it became apparent that she had gone missing, and now, based on what she had just seen, Laura was now even more anxious.

            Jessica believed her at once, and immediately started fretting, though Grace now eyed her daughter skeptically.  "I wonder…" she grumbled under her breath.

            She wasn't too soft for her daughters to hear, though.  Laura had a good idea what this was all about and stayed quiet in order to avoid a scene, but Jessica, to whom Laura had avoided telling all but the vaguest outline of this conflict, was puzzled.  "What do you mean, Mom?"

            "I'd like to believe that you really just had a premonition, Laura, but I can't help wondering if you faked it as part of a complicated scheme to postpone the wedding."

            Jessica just stood there, not believing what she had heard, but Laura had seen it coming.  In fact, despite her indignation, she felt a perverse desire to laugh.  "Believe me, there's no way in hell that I'd say I had a vision if it wasn't true, since I'm not exactly thrilled about it.  The last thing I want is to end up shrieking and moaning about evil forces to anybody who will listen."

            "I don't know about that," Grace maintained, her suspicion increasing by the minute.  "I told you once that these powers tend to run in the family, and now you just get one for the first time, the night before Charity marries Miguel.  It's all just a little too convenient for me."

            "And just how could my getting a premonition possibly postpone the wedding?" Laura asked, genuinely curious as to just what her reasoning might conceivably be.

            Although Grace did not have an answer, she remained unshaken in her conviction.  "You tell me."

            "Tell you what?" Sam asked innocuously, ducking into the room for a second after returning from the Russell home.

            Before either of the two combatants had a chance to speak, Jessica piped up.  "Laura had a premonition, Dad, only Mom doesn't believe her and says she's just trying to break up Miguel and Charity," she stated frankly, still shocked that her mother was acting this way.  At least with Kay, she had been right, but this was just ridiculous!

            Sam, concerned, immediately rushed over to Laura.  "Oh my God, are you okay?  What did you see?"

            Laura replied that she was fine, just a little disoriented by the experience, and explained her vision to her vision to her father.  "Wherever Sheridan and the others are, I have the feeling that they're going to be in terrible danger very soon."

            After living for years with not just one, but two women who insisted that they periodically received visions, Sam had learned to keep an open mind about this sort of thing, but he nevertheless felt the need to at least look for a reasonable explanation.  "You said that you saw Sheridan, and a boat and an explosion?"

            "Not necessarily an explosion.  A blast of some sort, but it could have been something else."

            "Still, it sounds a lot like the boating accident that Sheridan was reported dead in last year.  Is it possible that you were imagining what that must have been like?  She was your aunt, after all."

            Laura looked at Sam doubtfully.  "I guess it's _possible—"_

            "Ha!" Grace broke in, startling everybody, a glint of triumph clearly visible in her eyes.  "See, she's quick to change her story, now that she knows I'm onto her!"

            Sam stared at his wife as if he was seeing her for the first time.  "Grace, what the hell is wrong with you?!  How could you even think something like that?!"

            Grace was about to shoot back with some acidic reply, but Laura couldn't take this anymore.  No matter how hard she tried to avoid causing a conflict, it just wasn't working.  "Look, I don't want everyone to yell and fight with each other because of me.  Clearly, this whole household would be a hell of a lot better off if I just wasn't here.  I'll go away.  I'll call up some of my old friends; I'm sure one of them will take me in."

            "No!" Jessica cried, glaring directly at her mother for perhaps the first time in her life.  "If Laura goes, then so do I!  She hasn't done anything to deserve to be treated this way."

            Sam, trying to be a peacemaker, made an attempt to diffuse this volatile situation.  "Calm down, both of you.  Nobody's going anywhere.  Nobody in this house wants you to leave.  Do they, _Grace_?"  Sam turned to his wife, looking her meaningfully in the eye.

            For a brief second, Grace was struck with the thought of how safe Charity and Miguel's love would finally be with people like Kay and Laura far away.  However, she eventually remembered that, as a mother, she really should not feel this way about her own child.  Besides, she could tell by the looks that Sam (and even Jessica!) was giving her, that if she did not speak in Laura's favor, she would find herself with even more problems.  "Of course I don't want you to move out, Laura," she finally said.  "You're my daughter.  I just want some assurance that you'll stop trying to break up Miguel and Charity."

            Laura began to wonder if there was anything she, or anybody else, could ever possibly say to change her mother's mind.  "Look, I have absolutely **no interest in breaking up those two.  In fact, I hope they have a long, happy marriage, with a dog, a white picket fence, a station wagon, 2.3 kids, the whole deal!  And, while I guess I can't be sure what exactly happened, I wasn't faking that vision.  Actually, I kind of wish I was, since that would mean that I'm becoming neither an evil forces magnet nor insane, but I'm sorry to say that it really happened."**

            Grace had a response ready, but suddenly remembered that she still had to ask Charity a last-minute question about the arrangement of novelty table place settings at the reception, so she hurried off, leaving her husband and daughters behind to stare after her.


	30. The Prosaically Named Chapter 30

(A/N: At last, I've finally been able to defeat my Amazing Colossal Writer's Block to cobble together another chapter!  I don't think I'm capable of writing an adequate apology for an **_eight month delay_, but I'll try.  I am not giving up on this story, and I'm making the solemn vow to have it totally finished before the end of the year.  Other than that, I can't make any promises except to say that, having conquered my inability to write, updates should become relatively frequent, barring RL interruptions.  This upcoming chapter is relatively short, and not too much happens, but it does help set the stage for what will (hopefully) be an exciting climax.  So, without further _adieu, enjoy, and, as always, reviews are certainly welcome.)_**

            "I really hope Gwen and Hank have more luck today than they've had the past couple of days," Sheridan sighed, once again holed up in the same claustrophobic hotel room with Luis.

            Luis shrugged uneasily as he absently reshuffled a deck of cards.  He was by now as thoroughly sick of playing Solitaire as any human being could conceivably be, but at least it took his mind ever so slightly off the business at hand, not to mention being alone with Sheridan for so long, day in and day out.  "They'd better before long.  Our whole plan hinges on those two pulling through for us right now."

            Taking a seat next to him, Sheridan sighed wearily.  "I know I shouldn't doubt them.  After all, I know how capable Gwen is, and Hank, well, there was that one time he got me buried alive and all, but I don't think he'll let us down now if he has any say about it."

            "No, he won't," Luis replied confidently.  "I know that guy; he's like a brother to me.  And, in case you're worrying, I know he won't let anything happen to Gwen, either, if he can do anything about it.  I'm still not sure what the hell happened with those two, but he's crazy about her."

            "Yeah, I'm still sort of shocked about their elopement, to tell you the truth.  I talked to Gwen about it, but she doesn't seem to understand it any better than we do.  What a match, the two of them, antagonists one moment and then all over each other the next.  Have you ever seen anything like it before?"

            Luis shifted awkwardly, but his troubled brown eyes met her gaze, and he let out an uneasy laugh.  "Well, yeah, Sheridan, I've seen it happen once before, and it was absolutely amazing, though, in the end, it didn't end up working out."

            Sheridan looked down at the table, embarrassed by Luis' words.  As was so liable to happen these days, all of her conflicting emotions rose to the surface, making it impossible to respond to Luis' comment.  Attempting to clear her mind, Sheridan forced herself to focus on the card game which Luis was currently playing.

            "Luis, don't you see the jack of clubs for your ten?" Sheridan asked, deciding that his mind must be a thousand miles from Solitaire.   "Look, see, it's right here…"

            But as Sheridan extended her right arm, intending to point out the elusive card, her hand accidentally brushed against Luis', causing him to turn his head sharply to meet her gaze, and the next thing either of them knew, they found themselves bent over almost to the point of falling out of their respective chairs, roughly lip-locked, and haphazardly groping one another furiously. 

            When she finally realized what they were doing, and even more importantly, what they were about to do, Sheridan forced herself to pull away, exaggerating her heavy breathing so as not to have to be the first one to say something.

            "Well, that was…something, alright," Luis said once he caught his breath.  Reluctantly, he added, "So, I guess that never happened, right?"

            Suddenly, the absurdity of the whole situation hit Sheridan, and she just had to roll her eyes at how ridiculous she'd been acting.  "Look, Luis, despite everything that's happened since the boat blew up, I love you, and I always will, and I'm certainly not going to pretend that I don't for one more second."

            Despite his shock, Luis' face automatically broke out into a wide, goofy grin.  "Are you sure, Sheridan?  Do you really mean that, Sheridan?"

            Sheridan nodded determinedly.  "Yes. I mean, I got annoyed with you a few weeks ago, but it doesn't change anything.  I've tried, but I just can't imagine living out my life with anyone but you."

            It took all of Luis' willpower to keep himself from jumping up and down happily like a little kid: he hadn't felt nearly this good since he'd first realized that Sheridan had come back to him.  However, he still had to make sure, especially since the main roadblock to their happiness hadn't been addressed yet.  "And Antonio?"

            Sheridan sighed.  "In a way, I do love him.  But not like I love you, Luis.  When I chose him, I must've had some residual feelings from my time as Diana left.  But the longer I've been myself, the more I've been realizing what a terrible mistake I've made.  As much as you drive me crazy sometimes, I guess you and I are what your sister would call 'fate.'"

            Luis laughed softly, and began stroking Sheridan's cheek.  "Yeah, I guess I'll have to apologize for all the times I yelled at her for that.  There's no other explanation for us."  Gently, he moved in for a slow and sensuous kiss, which Sheridan received with a hearty enthusiasm.

            By increments, they ended up on Sheridan's bed, nearly horizontal.  "Luis," protested Sheridan as she broke off for air, "maybe we shouldn't let things go this far right now.  I'm still technically engaged to your brother, after all."

            "I guess…you're right," Luis conceded in fragments, before he went back in for another kiss.  "We don't want…to betray him…we should…probably…wait until…we get a…chance to…tell…him," he continued, trying half-heartedly to stop, but just getting pulled deeper and deeper into the bed.

            "Definitely," Sheridan gasped, and really meant to agree to stop for now, but soon those thoughts were subsumed and subsequently replaced with an intense desire for Luis, desperately needing an outlet after weeks of building tension.

*****

            While Sheridan and Luis were busy making up for lost time, Gwen and Hank were busy in entirely another venue, as they, after days of futility, were finally getting a break.  Incredibly, they spotted Antonio a couple of blocks away from the harbor and, after satisfying themselves that nobody else was trailing them, they approached the eldest Lopez-Fitzgerald. 

            "Antonio," Hank said as he grabbed his arm to stop him.  "How's it going?"

            "Hank!" Antonio exclaimed incredulously, "and…I'm sorry," he said, looking in Gwen's direction, " I know I met you in Harmony, but it's been so insane, and I can't remember your name."

            "No problem.  It's Gwen Hotchkiss, Sheridan's friend."

            "Sheridan!"  Antonio exclaimed, allowing all of his worry and fear for his fiancée's safety rise to the surface, "Sheridan, and Luis, they're being held hostage, we have to do something!" he raved incoherently.

            "Relax," said Gwen soothingly, "we know all about that, and we sprung them out.  They're perfectly safe."

            Antonio stepped back in astonishment.  "Really?  Sheridan's okay?" he asked again, needing that further reassurance before allowing himself to feel relief. 

            "Yeah," Hank replied, "that's why we're here.  All four of us are in Boston, trying to help you out about the smuggling job this Nick guy is forcing you to do."

            "Oh, thank God," Antonio breathed out.      "I've been so afraid that Nick had already ordered his goons to get rid of them, and that Sheridan…wait a second, she's here?  With you?!  Then, she's still in danger…she shouldn't have come!

            Gwen rolled her eyes in unrestrained annoyance.  "Yes, she made the decision to come with and see if she could help you out, just like I did.  Honestly, you Lopez-Fitzgerald men should really stop trying to play knight-in-shining-armor all the time.  It gets old after awhile."

            Antonio opened his mouth to object, but Hank decided he had to get the discussion back on track before Gwen and Antonio got into a huge fight that attracted the attention of the whole street.  "Look, guys, let's stop arguing and focus on the problem.  Antonio, we know you're supposed to help deliver contraband weapons, so our plan is to highjack the boat, take Nick and his associates into our custody, and contact the local authorities.  Thing is, we can't do this until all of the cargo has arrived, and we need all the information and help you can give in the meantime if we're going to pull this off."

            Antonio grinned recklessly.  "You know, your whole scheme is nuts, but it just might work.  As far as I can tell, what you need to do is…"  

*****

            Saint Margaret Mary's was decorated in full wedding regalia, as was only fitting.  After all, one of its most beloved and pious parishioners was about to join her beloved in holy wedlock, and although the reception invitations were kept at a minimum of close friends and family, it seemed as though half the town had shown up at the lovely little church for the ceremony itself.

            In the front pews sat the families of the bride and groom, who waited for the ceremony quite emotionally.  Grace, overcome with joy for her beloved niece, was already using a handkerchief to wipe the tears from her eyes.  The day was finally here, and nothing would keep Charity from the happiness that she so truly deserved.

            A couple of seats away, Pilar was weeping quite profusely, overcome with a myriad of conflicting emotions.  She had disapproved of having the wedding so soon, and had wanted to postpone it until they had some sort of definite word on her other two sons, but now that the moment was here, she too felt incredibly happy for and proud of her second youngest.  Still, seeing Miguel like this made her yearn desperately for the family that was not here: for Antonio and Luis, wherever they were, for Paloma, whom she fervently hoped would be able to come home soon, and finally, for Martin, whom she knew rationally would never return to her, and yet whom she could never quite bring herself to give up on.

            "Mama, are you alright?" Theresa, who was sitting to her right with Little Ethan, asked.  As of lately, she'd been worried about her mother, who might do a great job of holding it all together, but whom Theresa knew must be driven near the breaking point with worry by now.

            "Yes, _mi hija, I'm fine," Pilar smiled through her tears.  "It's just that I've been thinking…"_

            Theresa reached out and grasped her mother's hand.  "They're going to be all right, Mama, I just know it."

            "I hope so, Theracita.  But I've also been wishing that your father could be here today."

            "Oh," Theresa said quietly.  Truth be told, she could barely even remember the man, and she'd learned a long while ago to stop hoping that he'd come back someday.  After all this time, it had become quite clear, even to a veteran dreamer like herself, that there were only two possibilities: that he'd run off and left them all with nothing, in which case she didn't _want_ to ever see him again, or that he'd been murdered, probably by the Cranes, a possibility she preferred not to think about it, considering that it was entirely possible that she was currently married to his killer, or at least the accomplice.  Theresa wasn't about to upset her mother anymore than she already was by telling her how she really felt about this, though. 

            "That would be wonderful," Theresa remarked, not quite able to offer any hopes that Fate would bring him back to them anymore.

            "Yes," Pilar smiled sadly, but also fondly.  "I can just imagine how happy he would be right now, to watch his first child get married…" Pilar stopped suddenly when she saw Theresa's pained reaction, and, realizing what she'd said, tried to correct herself.  "That is…"

            "Don't bother, Mama," Theresa interrupted with a painstaking lack of emotion.  "I'd like to forget it, too.  It's all my fault, too, doing all those crazy things, not listening whenever you, Luis, or Whitney tried to get me to listen to reason, something awful was bound to happen."

            Pilar couldn't think of much to say, except, "At least you've got your beautiful little boy.  Isn't that worth it?"

            "Of course, but if only Ethan was his father and not Julian…well, I guess just wishing can't make it happen.  Anyway, this is Miguel's day, so let's just concentrate on him and Charity now."

*****

            Very soon after Theresa said this, the ceremony began.  Father Lonigan took his place at the altar, Miguel, looking especially handsome in his tuxedo, walked in, accompanied by Reese, who was acting at his best man.  Shortly, the wedding march began, and Laura, Simone, and Jessica, in that order, glided up the aisle.  Finally, Charity appeared with Sam, who she had asked to give her away.

            Once the processional had finished, Father Lonigan began, "Friends and loved ones, we are gathered here today to unite to of St. Margaret Mary's most beloved children, Charity Standish and Miguel Francis Lopez-Fitzgerald, in the bonds of holy matrimony, in accordance with the wishes of Our Lord…"

            As Father Lonigan continued to deliver the ceremonial words, Charity suddenly began to feel very uncomfortable.  She was marrying Miguel, the man she loved, and yet, she didn't feel the way she knew she was supposed to.  She had expected to feel nervous and even scared, sure, but instead she found that she felt with an absolute certainty that this wedding was wrong.

            "Please, stop!" she yelled, causing the entire congregation to stare at her slack-jawed.

            "What is it, Charity?" Father Lonigan asked, as taken aback as anybody there.

            Charity took a deep breath.  "I'm so sorry, everybody, but I can't go through with this wedding.  It's just not right."

            Miguel looked hurt, as if he was about to start crying.  "But, Charity, don't you want to marry me?"

            "Of course Miguel, but I just realized that now isn't the time."

            "Um, Charity," Miguel replied, his gaze shifting to the mass of disconcerting wedding guests gaping at them.  "Maybe you should have decided that _before the ceremony."_

            "I know, and I feel really bad about this, but I just don't think we're ready to get married.  We _are_ too young, and neither of us has even started school, and we don't have any idea how we're going to make it work."

            Miguel couldn't actually disagree with anything she said, but was still perplexed at her sudden change in attitude.  "If you feel like this, why haven't you said something before?"

            "It was the premonitions," Charity asserted, drawing odd looks from people throughout the audience.  "Something's coming, and I thought I was being warned to get married, but it suddenly hit me that it's something else, that this isn't what any of the warnings were about at all.  I'm really sorry Miguel, but I don't think we should do this right now.  I do want to marry you someday, though.  That is, if you can ever forgive me."

            "Of course!" said Miguel, relieved despite his slight embarrassment.  "Any time you want to."

            Slowly, the dazed congregation got up and filed out, not too sure what had happened.  Not that this really surprised anybody; weddings in Harmony had become notorious for not actually, well, happening, and in fact several disgruntled guests reflected bitterly on the bets they would now have to pay off, and wished that they had been a little less optimistic about the outcome of the ceremony.

            The Bennetts and the Lopez-Fitzgeralds were the last to leave, Grace flashing a dirty look at a highly confused Laura before going to "console" Charity, and Pilar waiting with Theresa to pick up Miguel, who still wasn't exactly sure what was going on, and was disappointed that they were still not married, but more or less pacified that they were still together, and more or less engaged.

*****

            Gwen and Hank returned to her and Sheridan's hotel room to find a slightly disheveled Luis and Sheridan waiting for them.  This roused Gwen's curiosity, but she decided not to comment on it.  "Guys," she said excitedly, "Great news!"

            "Really?" Luis asked, perking up.

            "We sure could use it," Sheridan commented wryly.

            "Well, you've got it," replied Hank.  "We actually managed to speak to Antonio today!"

            Although the mention of his name caused a slightly uncomfortable reaction in both of them, both expressed considerable relief and wanted to know more.  "Is he alright?" Sheridan asked.

            "Yes, he's fine," Gwen answered, "and very helpful, too.  After we were able to convince him that you were alright, that is.  He'd been really worried."

            Now, Luis and Sheridan both flinched a little, obviously trying to hide their guilt, and confirmed Gwen's suspicions.  Feigning obliviousness, for now, she continued, "Anyway, he said that the final shipment is being loaded up a week from tomorrow, and they'll be about a two hour period when we can make our move."

            "Right," Hank interjected.  "We'll be waiting outside, hiding right off the docks, while we wait for Antonio to give us the sign.  He's going to try and drug Nick and his thugs, and if he succeeds, he'll drape a green flag over the side of the ship.  The second we see it, we rush aboard and take the boat to the nearest authorities.  Sounds good?"

            Luis and Sheridan both agreed to what seemed like a more reasonable plan than just about anything else.  After awhile, Hank went out with Luis to try and find the perfect hiding place for the four of them, Luis risking possibly being recognized because, as a cop, he was most qualified to scope out the best area.

            As soon as Gwen was alone with Sheridan, she turned toward her best friend, wanting some answers.  "Alright, I want to know: what's going on between you and Luis?"

            Sheridan sighed in resignation.  "Were we really that obvious?"

            "Just a little!" Gwen snorted.  "At the mention of Antonio's name, the two of you looked like you just wanted to disappear.  So, spill."

            "There's not really that much to tell.  We're back together."

            "Finally!" exclaimed Gwen, clasping Sheridan's hands in excitement.  Narrowly avoiding a girlish squeal, she added, "I was beginning to think that you'd _never_ come to your senses about who you wanted to be with!  So, what's the problem?"

            Sheridan blushed slightly.  "Well, when we got back together, we got…together."

            "Oh, and you feel bad because Antonio still thinks that you and he are getting married?"

            Sheridan nodded.

            "Well, you're going to tell him as soon as this is over, aren't you?"

            "Of course!"

            "Then," Gwen concluded evenly, "you should stop torturing yourself over it.  He'll be hurt, sure, but if he really loves you as much as he says he does, he'll understand, especially since he already understands the history you and Luis have."

            Sheridan smiled sardonically.  "This from the woman who went after her rival with a baseball bat?  My, how you've mellowed."

            "Hey!" objected Gwen, hitting Sheridan with a pillow.  "That was different!  The things Theresa was doing behind my back…anyway, it was also a long time ago.  Also, I'm starting to realize that Ethan and I didn't even come close to the sort of relationship that you and Luis have."

            Shaking her head, the young Crane woman remarked, "You really have done a turnaround about Luis!  I can still remember you telling me that it was doomed to failure because of our class differences."

            "Well, the whole "you being "dead" for an entire year but still finding your way back to him" thing made a pretty big difference.  And, a lot's happened since then to change my perspective."

            "What, like Hank?" Sheridan's eyes twinkled, though she was seriously trying to figure out what exactly was going on between the two of them.

            Gwen suddenly stiffened up.  "I have absolutely no idea what's going on there, and I'm making it a point to not even try and figure it out.  As far as I'm concerned, none of it's actually real until we get back to Harmony, _if_ we get back at all."

(A/N #2: Well, I've now covered two important _Passions_ traditions: the Botched Wedding and the Incredibly Stupid Plan, hopefully satisfactorily.  Tune in next time, same _Passions-time, same __Passions-channel, for further developments, and, of course, more Kay, who just didn't fit into this chapter but will be getting herself into lots more mischief soon enough.)_


End file.
